The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), which has reached a major milestone with the Independence Day opening of 440-meter Kalayaan Bridge connecting Pasig City with Makati City, enters the final stages of fully completing the Bonifacio Global City (BGC)-Ortigas Center Link Road Project.
DPWH Secretary Mark A. Villar, on the day the new Sta. Monica-Lawton Bridge now dubbed Kalayaan Bridge across Pasig River was opened to motorists during the 123rd celebration of Philippine Independence, declared that the next goal is to finish the entire BGC-Ortigas Center Link Road Project towards the last quarter of 2021.
Secretary Villar said that once this BGC-Ortigas Center Link Road Project is fully complete and open, about 20 percent of the traffic volume of EDSA and C-5 Road can be accomodated.
The Kalayaan Bridge, the viaduct structure and coupled with our road widening and rehabilitation works will create much better traffic flow to get through BGC and Ortigas business districts quicker, added Secretary Villar.
In his report to Secretary Villar, Undersecretary for Unified Project Management Office (UPMO) Operations Emil K. Sadain said that the construction of 565-meter Lawton Avenue – Global City Viaduct which is another component of the 1.367 kilometer BGC-Ortigas Center Link Road Project has already reached the Kalayaan Avenue intersection.
Simultaneous to the final finishing activities for the Kalayaan Bridge and the up and down ramps to Kalayaan Avenue, construction of the viaduct structure from Lawton Avenue, Makati City moved quickly and will soon be connected to the entrance of Bonifacio Global City’s 8th Avenue, added Undersecretary Sadain.
Assessment of the (4) lane viaduct construction project was conducted by Undersecretary Sadain together with UPMO Roads Management Cluster 1 Project Directors Virgilio C. Castillo and Benjamin A. Bautista, Project Manager Ricarte S. ManÞalac, Project Engineer Emmanuel Regodon, and Engr. Reynaldo Perez of Persan Construction Inc.
Now that the viaduct is about to reach the BGC side, the DPWH UPMO team is continuously coordinating with partner stakeholders so that the work that needs to be done is as efficient as possible to finish the viaduct overpass, connect with the roadway and get it open by this last quarter.