Mark Villar shows off nearly completed Estrella-Pantaleon Bridge 

Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Mark Villar live-streamed on Facebook the nearly completed Estrella-Pantaleon Bridge.

As we can see from the video, it is much wider than the old bridge. It features four lanes, plus a sidewalk for pedestrians. The said walkway is of course separated from the car lanes by a beefy barrier, while the outer edge of the bridge itself features tall railings for extra safety. It also has a divider separating the northbound and southbound lanes. 

So, suffice to say, the bridge appears to be almost complete. In fact, Secretary Villar mentioned in the same video that they are expecting it to be usable by the public sometime around the first week of August 2021. Moreover, the Secretary and many other concerned entities are hoping that the new bridge will help lessen the traffic on EDSA. 

That last point is especially crucial now considering that more and more motorists are already out and about since the economy is already getting back on its feet. 

If you’ve missed previous updates regarding the initial opening date for the bridge, remember that it was supposed to open back in June. The said schedule was then moved to July. So technically, the new August opening target date is the third time the timeline for the project was moved back. 

The nearly completed Estrella-Pantaleon Bridge

To further clarify for those unaware, the said bridge project crosses the Pasig River, and links the cities of Makati and Mandaluyong together. Of note, this new bridge is an update to the older Estrella-Pantaleon Bridge which was opened way back in 2011.   

The old one, as most of you already know, was a two-lane truss bridge, which was getting a bit tight considering the growing number of road users in general. The new one however, is a stronger Twin Spine steel box girder type bridge with concrete deck slacks. It was started in 2019 and is an improved version with an overall budget of Php 1.46 billion. 

Are you excited for the opening of the new Estrella-Pantaleon bridge?  

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