The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) has completed and opened the entirety of the Bonifacio Global (BGC)-Ortigas Center Road Link project. This follows the opening of the Sta. Monica-Lawton Bridge, dubbed the Kalayaan bridge, last June 2021.
The BGC-Ortigas Link Bridge is opened to the motoring public
Present in the opening ceremony were President Rodrigo Duterte, DPWH Secretary Mark A. Villar, Taguig City Lino S. Cayetano, and Pasig City Lone District Representative Roman Romulo, including representatives from concerned agencies.
“With the opening of the entire BGC-Ortigas Road Link Project, we are seeing significant traffic decongestion, or as much as 20 percent traffic volume from nearby Epifanio delos Santos Avenue and C-5 Road Sections,” said DPWH Secretary Mark Villar.
Built at a project cost of P1.79-billion, the BGC-Ortigas Link Bridge is a 1.48-km bridge built to provide a faster link between Ortigas and BGC. Considering that these cities are two of the busiest business districts in the country, the project will be beneficial especially to employees who help drive the economy.
It reduces travel time between BGC and Ortigas to 12 minutes
The government agency noted that the newly-opened bridge reduces the travel time between BGC and Pasig/Mandaluyong City to only 12 minutes. This is a significant improvement from the previous one-hour drive.
“Through the efforts of our field workers and engineers who worked 24/7, rain or shine, we were able to finish the 2-lane viaduct component of the project this September. This segment now connects Lawton Avenue to the entrance of BGC at 8th Avenue through up and down ramps,” added Villar.
Furthermore, the BGC-Ortigas Link Bridge is said to be part of the bigger EDSA Decongestion Program rolled out earlier this year. The program ultimately aims to bring EDSA back to its original capacity of 288,000 cars per day, from over 400,000 before the pandemic according to the MMDA's figures. It is composed of 25 projects that include the opening of 14 expressways spanning 121 km and 11 bridges spanning 9.3 km.
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