After over two years of construction, the Estrella-Pantaleon Bridge connecting Makati and Mandaluyong over the Pasig River officially opened to motorists on Thursday (July 29). The P1.46-billion infrastructure project has four lanes and replaces a temporary modular steel bridge that was closed to vehicular traffic in September 2018.
The bridge will help cut travel time for motorists traveling between the two cities while also helping decongest EDSA, according to Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Mark A. Villar.
“This modern bridge across Pasig River is expected to accommodate about 50,000 vehicles daily and is among the projects under the Metro Manila Logistics Improvement Network to address traffic congestion including that of EDSA,” he said.
Construction of the 506.46-meter bridge started in January 2019 and was briefly disrupted by the pandemic. Contractor China Road and Bridge Corp. “worked double time” to finish the structure. A symbolic marker was unveiled in Rockwell, Makati on Thursday night.
The bridge project was funded through a grant from the People’s Republic of China.
The opening comes just over a month after the opening of another bridge project spanning the Pasig River. The BGC-Ortigas Link Bridge, which links the two business districts, opened to motorists on June 12.
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