Officials ready traffic plan with possible closure of portion of Roxas Boulevard

WITH the imminent closure of a portion of Roxas Boulevard to give way for the repair of a damaged box culvert, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chairman Benjamin “Benhur” Abalos Jr. met with transport, public works, and International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) officials to find alternate routes for trucks and trailers bound to be be affected by the road closure.

“One of the possible solutions that we are eyeing is for the container vans to be carried on the barge and will be transported from MICT [Manila International Container Terminal] going to the Cavite Gateway Terminal in Tanza, Cavite,” said Abalos who also inspected the MICT on Monday.

He was joined by Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade, Department of Public Works and Highways-national Capital Region Regional Director Nomer Abel Canlas, Philippine Ports Authority General Manager Jay Santiago, and ICTSI Executive Vice President Christian Gonzales.

“We are studying all options to alleviate the possible traffic it would generate,” Abalos further said.

For his part, Gonzales admitted that the planned rerouting will be challenging “in the beginning” but vowed to give their support to the government.

“We’re in the business of moving containers so we have to find a way. Challenging of course in the beginning but we’ll ramp it up as quickly as possible,” Gonzales said.

The MMDA chief also stressed that the agency has yet to determine if a portion of the southbound direction of Roxas Boulevard fronting HK Sun Plaza will be totally or partially closed to vehicular traffic.

“The structural integrity is at stake. Hence, we are appealing for the public’s understanding of the inconvenience the road closure would cause. This is temporary. The construction is only for three months,” Abalos explained.

Tugade, for his part, said the Cavite Gateway Terminal would enable efficient transport of container trucks.

The rehabilitation of the damaged Libertad Drainage Main Box Culvert in front of Libertad Pumping Station in Pasay City would require the immediate closure of the southbound portion of Roxas Boulevard.

Approximately 1,000 cargo trucks and trailers per day are traversing the Roxas Boulevard southbound direction.