By Raymund Antonio The Department of Public Works and Highways began on Monday the construction of the Estrella-Pantaleon Bridge in the cities of Makati and Mandaluyong. (DPWH/ MANILA BULLETIN) DPWH Secretary Mark Villar announced the start of the bridge construction, which is financed by China through a bilateral cooperation with the Philippines. Once completed, Villar noted the bridge will be “accessible to the public by 2020.” The Estrella-Pantaleon Bridge, which has a total length of 506.46 meters, will connect Estrella Street in Makati City and Barangka Drive in Mandaluyong City. “The construction of the Estrella-Pantaleon Bridge is part of the Metro Manila Logistics Network — a traffic management master plan created to decongest Metro Manila by adding 12 additional bridges crossing Pasig River, Marikina River, and Manggahan Floodway,” the DPWH chief said. “The alignment caters to about 1.3 million vehicles daily - almost three times its current capacity. There is a need to address the gap if we are serious in solving traffic,” he added. As of Monday, the DPWH has completed the feasibility study of 10 bridges under the Metro Manila Logistics Network. These include North & South Harbor Bridge, Palanca-Villegas Bridge (Pasig River), Beata-Manalo Bridge (Pasig River), Blumentritt-Antipolo River, Eastbank-Westbank Bridge 1, J.P. Rizal - Lopez Jaena Bridge, J.P. Rizal - St. Mary Bridge, Marikina-Vista Real Bridge, Mercury-Evangelista Bridge, and Eastbank-Westbank Bridge 2 (Manggahan Floodway). The construction of the Bonifacio Global City-Ortigas Center Link Road Project, a four-lane bridge spanning 633 meters across Pasig River linking Lawton Avenue in Makati City and Sta. Monica Street in Pasig City, has also started. Its target date of completion is in June 2020. Since President Rodrigo Duterte assumed office, DPWH has constructed, rehabilitated, strengthened and widened a total of 2,423 bridges, it said.