The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) is seeking to retrofit and strengthen the Guadalupe Bridge that crosses Pasig River along EDSA in the soonest possible time as it cited the big trouble that may occur should a strong earthquake hit Metro Manila.
The plan is to start it either before the end of 2024 or early next year, according to DPWH Undersecretary Maria Catalina E. Cabral during the Build Better More Infrastructure Forum at the New Clark City in Tarlac.
The only major hindrance in starting the retrofitting of the Guadalupe Bridge, according to Cabral, is the challenge on traffic effects especially that tens of thousands of vehicles travel along EDSA on a daily basis.
“We recognize the difficulty in retrofitting Guadalupe Bridge because right now, EDSA is already congested. Just imagine the effects of any rehabilitation works especially on the Guadalupe Bridge,” said Cabral.
“But we already submitted a traffic management plan to the MMDA (Metropolitan Manila Development Authority), there is just a need for fine tuning because it is really difficult to manage traffic along EDSA,” she added.
Cabral emphasized the need to strengthen the Guadalupe Bridge in the soonest possible time since the bridge was built around 50 years ago and the adverse effects raised by the Japanese experts should a strong earthquake hit Metro Manila.
“Bridges built more than 50 years ago need to be retrofitted. And this is our focus now, to retrofit all road lifelines—the bridges crossing, traversing Metro Manila,” said Cabral.
“Bear with us because you don’t want to be stuck in the middle of a bridge when the earthquake happens because as JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency) study said, the West Valley Fault is really ripe to emit an energy equivalent to Magnitude 7 earthquake,” she added.
But Cabral assured the public that the DPWH will not start any rehabilitation works on Guadalupe Bridge without any plan to ease the adverse impact on motorists and commuters passing EDSA.
Aside from submitting the traffic management plan to the MMDA, Cabral said they already came up with other plans and designs to ease the burden of motorists, including expanding the outermost lanes of Guadalupe Bridge on both sides.
“We will not touch Guadalupe Bridge until the expansion of the Guadalupe Bridge on both sides is not done since this expansion would mean additional carrying capacity,” said Cabral.
“And we will not touch Guadalupe Bridge until such time that we do not have the approved traffic management plan,” she added.
Currently, the DPWH is retrofitting the Kamuning Flyover which was closed in May this year for the six-month rehabilitation to strengthen it as part of the efforts to cushion the impact of a strong earthquake in Metro Manila.
But for Cabral, the Gudalupe Bridge retrofitting is more complicated in terms of traffic impact--the reason, she said, why the DPWH has long started the preparation for alternative routes, including the Bonifacio Global City link and the Skyway connector to ensure that there will be more alternative routes for motorists passinng EDSA.