Camanava mayors push for Tullahan Bridge work postponement

The mayors of Caloocan, Malabon and Navotas yesterday rallied behind Valenzuela City Mayor Sherwin Gatchalian and pushed for a halt on the construction work of the Tullahan Bridge for at least two months.

Mayors Enrico Echiverri, Canuto Oreta and Toby Tiangco of Caloocan, Malabon and Navotas, respectively, backed Gatchalian after a dry run of a traffic rerouting scheme failed to ease the monstrous traffic jam on MacArthur Highway that will be caused with the closure of the bridge.

Earlier, Gatchalian called all concerned parties, including representatives from the Department of Public Works and Highways, the Metro Manila Development Authority, the contractors, local residents, transport groups, the business community and city officials, to a dialogue to thresh out the problems that will arise from the bridge’s closure.

All have agreed to execute another dry run for rerouting schemes proposed by the city hall at 6 a.m. on Friday, said Gatchalian.

Roberto Darilag, head of the city hall’s Action Center on top of the rerouting plan, told The STAR in an interview yesterday they will launch the detour plans that officials expect to significantly reduce the volume of traffic along the detour route.

In the meantime, the present traffic setup prevails.

"Both the southbound and northbound lanes on the bridge will remain open to all traffic, except buses, until Thursday this week," said Darilag.

All southbound buses are directed to take Maysan Road and out to the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX). They take the same route on their return trip.

Echiverri, Oreta and Tiangco – whose constituents will be directly hit by the expected traffic gridlock when the bridge is totally closed to all vehicles on Friday – signified their opposition yesterday in a letter submitted to acting Public Works Secretary Manuel Bonoan.

Their position followed a dry run of the rerouting plan Monday last week – which saw the bridge totally shut off for the first time – resulted in choking traffic that delayed travel time by some three to four hours.

The mayors agreed that closing the bridge might be premature because that current detour routes were found to be insufficient to accommodate the volume of traffic.

Gatchalian had earlier pointed out the lack of coordination between the DPWH and MMDA – the lead implementing agencies – with the local government and residents along the detour routes.

Gatchalian also said that part of the routes are privately owned and thus require appropriate notice and coordination with the concerned homeowners’ associations.

Likewise, the closure will greatly affect the day-to-day affairs of local government units and compromise delivery of services, he said.

Gatchalian, who is admittedly partial to the local business community, sees the closure as an added cost of doing business and lower revenue.

Meanwhile, the construction of a pedestrian footbridge on the northbound lane of the bridge continues, which should have begun last Monday yet.

Gatchalian noticed the narrow 1.5-meter width of the bridge and DPWH agreed to widen it to at least three meters. They also asked for more time to finish the bridge. Darilag said the bridge’s pillars will be erected on Friday. – With Edu Punay