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The Estrella-Pantaleon Bridge Project is now 86% complete, 12% ahead of schedule, and targeted for completion by the second quarter
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The bridge can accommodate 50,000 vehicles daily and cut travel time between Mandaluyong and Makati to 12 minutes
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It will connect Estrella Street on the Makati side to Barangka Drive on the Mandaluyong side and help decongest EDSA by serving as an alternate route for motorists
Civil works for the Estrella-Pantaleon Bridge Project are already 86% complete, 12% ahead of schedule, and targeted for completion by the second quarter of this year, according to the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).
Completed are all bridge substructure works for abutments A & B on both sides and piers of the Makati approach bridge; the V-shaped piers for the main bridge; concrete box girder for the approach bridge; 20 segments of pre-stressed concrete box girder for the main bridge using form traveler system; and two segments of pre-stressed concrete box girder using conventional method, according to DPWH undersecretary for Unified Project Management Office (UPMO) Operations Emil Sadain.
Bridge construction activities are now on post-tensioning and grouting works; formworks and rebar installation for the closure section in the side spans; formworks installation for the two-meter closure section on the main bridge span; and preparatory works for approach road construction on both sides.
A DPWH UPMO project implemented through a China grant, the 506-linear meter bridge will have a width of 21.65 meters, capable of four lanes from the previous two, and will have three-meter sidewalks on both sides.
Targeted for completion by the second quarter, the P1.46-billion Estrella-Pantaleon Bridge can accommodate 50,000 vehicles daily and cut travel time between the cities of Mandaluyong and Makati to 12 minutes.
The new bridge will connect Estrella Street on the Makati side to Barangka Drive on the Mandaluyong side and help decongest EDSA of traffic as an alternate route for motorists.
DPWH secretary Mark Villar, meanwhile, said that since a single COVID-19 case could interrupt, if not totally stop, work on the project, construction firms must proactively deal with the increased risk of illness even as they rush to complete the project by June.
Villar recently issued revised construction safety guidelines on the implementation of infrastructure projects, both public and private, during the public health crisis under enhanced community quarantine (ECQ), modified ECQ (MECQ), general community quarantine (GCQ), and modified GCQ.
Under the latest order, all essential public and private construction projects will be allowed to operate at full capacity in areas under ECQ and MECQ, observing strict compliance with the new construction safety guidelines, with the exemption of small-scale projects.
Sadain, for his part, reminded the Estrella-Pantaleon Bridge project contractor, China Road and Bridge Corp., of the current health situation, particularly in Metro Manila, which is under ECQ until April 10.
He said the contractor must comply with protocols on prevention, detection, and rapid response in order to maintain construction work continuity as workers living/confined in onsite or off-site barracks resume work after the Lenten break.
