Bridges to perdition
Ma. Isabel Ongpin
AS a user of the Estrella-Pantaleon Bridge from Makati to Mandaluyong, I have been puzzled by what the Department of Public Works and Highways has seemingly undertaken to do with the bridge.
The inconvenience of closing it for the Mandaluyong-to-Makati and vice-versa commuters will be endured, if necessary. But it will be accepted only if there is a promise that the project will be well-planned, well-done and bring about a permanent alleviation of traffic between the two cities.
But so far it does not look to be going in the direction of a positive outcome. The bridge was closed at midnight on September 23, a Sunday, but reopened at midnight the next day which was by then Tuesday. The reason given at first was that the preparations for immediate work were not complete. Indeed, there were no signs of any deployment of either equipment or personnel. This was followed by the explanation that business interests, commuters, the general public protested that closing the bridge as the year ends and the holiday season approaches would bring about unusual hardship, terrible traffic chaos and lost business opportunities. The request was fair enough to warrant listening to it and granting it.
Now we have been notified through the media that the bridge will close after the New Year. The plan so far announced is to expand it to four lanes from its present two lanes. One reason given for the expansion despite its being only a 10-year-old bridge is that it was built for around 100,000 vehicles a day, but has generated 400,000 vehicles daily. The original premise was obviously unrealistic but the bridge is carrying on even as the rush hour slowdown that one experiences as one attempts to cross it in the early morning or late afternoon is pronounced, making it quite clear that the bridge needs to be wider.
However, the expansion to a four-lane bridge may be feasible only on the Makati end which has the four-lane Estrella Street that takes traffic to EDSA and vice versa via the flyover from EDSA to Estrella and the bridge. From Mandaluyong through the bridge to Rockwell and EDSA, traffic works well enough though not without delays that are bearable compared to other traffic snarls in the metro area. On the Mandaluyong side the four-lane bridge ends on a two-lane busy road, Barangka Drive, that has door-to-door commercial entities along it like street restaurants, a huge high school where students have classes till about 8 p.m., car wash garages, barbershops, tailoring shops, pet shops, clothing shops, grocery stores, sidewalk vendors and a sizeable market. All of which mean people on the streets, vehicles slowly maneuvering through the people and the shops, and no dedicated highway or street that will take the traffic to a major artery like Shaw Boulevard without disrupting a large part of Mandaluyong and creating a jam at the Mandaluyong side of the bridge. This is situation that, if a four-lane bridge is in place, would be going from the frying pan to the fire, a worse scenario than the one obtaining now. The pile-up on the Mandaluyong side from a new four-lane bridge feeding into a two-lane, very busy street will bring chaos, multiple complaints and general consternation, all of which will fall on the proponents, which seem to be the DPWH and the MMDA with local governments unthinkingly going along.
Yes, build, build, build but plan, plan, plan first. In the matter of bridges for Manila for which Chinese funding is apparently available, don’t just throw money at the bridges without figuring out if they will be an improvement, a better way provided for commuters, and located in a really practical and needed site.
Certainly, a bridge from Binondo that will bring all the traffic in one swoop and one direction to Intramuros and the narrow streets nearby and end up near the Port Area where the trucks and container vans emanate at certain hours of the day will bring about a carmageddon that will compromise Roxas Boulevard (already traffic-laden), Burgos Drive, Taft Avenue, etc. Aside from ruining Intramuros’ identity as an important national monument and the historic origin of Manila, the traffic will mess up the weddings at the Manila Cathedral which are booked years in advance and by the hour. It will not be surprising that participants will have to fight traffic, compete for parking spaces and probably engage in road rage. This bridge is needed somewhere else not near Jones Bridge, Quezon Bridge and MacArthur Bridge, all of which are relatively near one another.
As for the Estrella-Pantaleon Bridge, it should be left as is until the Mandaluyong end comes up with a dedicated highway to take the traffic directly to a major street like Shaw Boulevard, an improbable situation considering the effort that to accomplish it will take. Here is where urban planners must be called in as well as traffic experts. A four-lane bridge with no preparations for the egress of traffic at one end except a two-lane busy street that is basically an urban neighborhood will be a bridge to perdition. It will make things worse than they are. Money alone cannot solve problems or bring about improvements without a workable plan that comes from expert study and experience.
Can we please request for those qualities in our build, build, build policy? In the case of the bridges in question, it would be best to send their proposed locations back to the drawing board for further study. The Binondo bridge should not ruin the character of Intramuros, so re-locate it where it will be useful. The Estrella-Pantaleon Bridge should be left as is as no matter how clogged it can be at times. It works for Mandaluyong residents and Makati commuters to Mandaluyong. Those who need to go beyond these two areas on this bridge are the ones who need a new bridge somewhere else.
Rethink, please!
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