Magallanes interchange closed Thursday night for repairs

MANILA, Philippines - A portion of the Magallanes Interchange will be closed for one hour as part of the preparations for the five-month repair of the elevated highway, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority said on Thursday.

MMDA chairman Francis Tolentino said the 11 p.m. to 12 midnight closure of the Manila-South Luzon Expressway portion of the interchange will simulate the expected impact of the repair works to the traffic flow.

"What we want to do here is to see how it would gravely affect the vehicular traffic. As much as possible, we don’t want the motoring public to suffer. We have to be careful and study this matter seriously," Tolentino said following a meeting Thursday with the officials of the Department of Public Works and Highways.

The extensive strengthening, repair, and asphalt overlay of the Magallanes Interchange may start at midnight tomorrow, May 30. The repair works will be done in five stages and only from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. daily.

From eight months, DPWH agreed to complete the project in five and a half months, or 165 calendar days. The agency submitted a compressed work schedule as required by MMDA the other day.

During this morning’s meeting, Tolentino also asked the DPWH engineers to deploy traffic flagmen to assist the motorists affected by the closures of portions of the interchange.

Tolentino also required DPWH to put up signs stating the expected completion date of the repair works so as to properly inform the public.

The repair of the Magallanes Interchange includes the replacement of railings, steel expansion joints, and patching up of cracks, among others.