Bridge deal needs thorough review
THERE is no question as to the benefits to be derived by the country from its receipt of grants or aid from China. It’s high time the Philippines diversified its sources of official development assistance, and China is a natural partner considering the cultural and economic links between the two countries.
But it’s difficult to set aside the public uproar created by two Pasig River bridge projects to be funded by Chinese grant- aids — the P4.6- billion Binondo- Intramuros Bridge and the P1.4- billion Estrella- Pantaleon Bridge. We have written extensively about the former in a previous editorial. It’s time to deal with the latter.
The Estrella-Pantaleon Bridge, which connects the Rockwell commercial center in Makati and the Barangka district of Mandaluyong, was supposed to be closed beginning September 23, or three days after the original September 20 start date after complaints from businesses and motorists.
A further barrage of complaints forced the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to reopen the bridge on September 25, with the construction start date moved to January 2019. Some 100,000 motorists were said to have been affected by the two-day closure.
News of the bridge’s closure has left a number of motorists puzzled.
First, a July press release on the bridge projects made the impression that these were entirely new infrastructure projects. This was true in the case of the Binondo-Intramuros Bridge. As for the Estrella-Pantaleon Bridge, the press release announced: “The Estrella-Pantaleon Bridge
will connect Estrella Street at Makati City and Barangka Drive in Mandaluyong City. It has a total road length of 506.46 meters” (Emphasis ours).
Of course, Estrella Street in Makati and Pantaleon Street in Mandaluyong are already connected by a bridge. The press release did not say the old, two-lane, box truss bridge was going to be closed because it would be demolished to give way to a new one. This was probably why so many users of the EstrellaPantaleon Bridge from either side of the Pasig were up in arms. The government wasn’t entirely transparent about it.
Not a few people began to wonder why a new bridge needed to be demolished. The Estrella-Pantaleon Bridge, built with assistance from the Austrian government, was opened just seven years ago, in 2011, to the delight of motorists who were given a third alternative in going in and out of Makati or Mandaluyong (the other two are Guadalupe Bridge on EDSA and the Makati-Mandaluyong Bridge).
The Estrella-Pantaleon Bridge can be clogged during rush hour; nonetheless there seemed to be no reason to demolish and replace a functioning bridge.
The DPWH says the new Estrella-Pantaleon Bridge will have four lanes, thus solving the congestion problem.
The Estrella side can probably accommodate a fourlane approach. The Pantaleon side, however, is problematic. Barangka Drive, where the bridge leads to, is a narrow, two- lane street. It makes no sense for a four- lane bridge to lead to a smaller road. It would be difficult to expand the bridge to four lanes without purchasing more right of way, which can be a costly exercise.
If this was the case, wouldn’t an entirely new bridge connecting Makati and Mandaluyong, perhaps between the Estrella-Pantaleon and Lambingan (Sta. Ana, Manila) bridges, be more appropriate? Such a bridge will achieve the goal of decongestion, and perhaps be less disruptive compared with closing and demolishing the Estrella-Pantaleon Bridge and buying expensive right of way.
This bridge deal needs to be studied thoroughly. The DPWH should welcome more insights from the general public, especially motorists, before it expects them to grin and bear the inconvenience.