DPWH: R-10 upgrade resumes, shanties gone

Radial Road 10 or R-10, the road traversing the old Smokey Mountain area that is home to thousands of informal settlers in Tondo, Manila, will soon turn into a high-capacity highway, according to the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).

“(Motorists) will soon have access to an improved and widened Radial Road 10 or R-10,” according to Public Works Secretary Mark Villar, who said the project should help offset the usual heavy volume of vehicles on major highways like Edsa or C5.

They may opt to use R-10 as alternative route to Edsa via Bonifacio Drive and Roxas Boulevard in traveling from north to south and vice versa, Villar said in a statement.

The department has already completed the clearing of illegal structures along the right-of-way areas covered by the project. “We will now resume construction activities for the  completion of the upgrade and the widening of the remaining section, particularly at Pacheco, Tondo, area,” Villar said.

The 9.7-kilometer R-10, which stretches from Delpan Bridge in Tondo to the mouth of Malabon River at Bangkulasi Bridge, C4 Road, in Navotas City, may serve as an alternative route for motorists traveling from Quezon City to Manila and Pasay.

“The Bangkulasi Bridge at the end of C4 in Navotas has also been recently opened following the relocation of informal settlers who had occupied the foot of the bridge,” Villar said.

The DPWH hopes to open an “improved” R-10 by January 2017, Villar said. —TINA G. SANTOS