The P1.46-billion Estrella-Pantaleon bridge is now open to traffic following its inauguration led by President Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday.
The President was joined by Public Works Secretary Mark A. Villar in the symbolic unveiling of the bridge marker at Rockwell, Makati City.
The Estrella-Pantaleon Bridge is one of the two projects funded by a grant of the People’s Republic of China, the other being the Binondo-Intramuros Bridge in Manila, expected to be finished by the end of the year.
The President expressed his appreciation to the Chinese government’s generosity in funding the construction of the bridge “that has not only improved mobility and connectivity but also enhanced the resilience against natural disasters.”
Villar said the modern bridge across Pasig River is expected to accommodate about 50,000 vehicles daily and will cut travel time between Mandaluyong and Makati to 12 minutes from half an hour. The bridge is among the projects of the Metro Manila Logistics Improvement Network to address traffic congestion, including that on EDSA.
Construction of the new bridge began in January 2019 under the DPWH Unified Project Management Office Operations headed by Undersecretary Emil K. Sadain.
Together with Secretary Villar, Sadain was at the forefront of ensuring the quality completion despite the challenges of this project under the “Build Build Build” program.
“While this pandemic may have slowed down and disrupted the implementation of this bridge project, the DPWH UPMO Roads Management Cluster 1 Team and contractor China Road and Bridge Corporation have worked double time,” Villar said.
