HEAVY traffic is expected to build up along Commonwealth Avenue and other areas in Quezon City as the construction of the P70-billion Metro Railway Transit System-Line 7 (MRT-7) project goes full throttle on Monday.
More than 300 traffic enforcers will be deployed as part of the road management measure prepared by the Metro Manila Development Authority and the Quezon City government to help ease up traffic congestion in areas affected by the construction.
“We must realize that these infrastructure projects will benefit our countrymen in the long run. But for the meantime, we appeal to Metro Manila [residents] who would be inconvenienced by the construction to bear with us,” said Thomas Orbos, MMDA general manager and concurrent Transportation Undersecretary for Road.
The construction of the rail project has rendered the closure of two lanes from the center island on both directions of Commonwealth Avenue.
Quezon City officials also advised motorists and commuters to prepare for the expected traffic jam to avoid inconvenience and take alternative routes, whenever necessary.
In 2016, an annual average daily traffic of 272,255 vehicles was recorded along Commonwealth Avenue.
The construction of MRT Line 7 Phase 1 will be undertaken by stakeholder San Miguel Holdings Corp. through the consortium of Hyundai Rotem Co. and EEI Corp., its contractor.
Based on its profile posted at the official website of Private-Public Partnership Center, the project involves the financing, design, construction, operation and maintenance of the 23-km elevated railway line.
The MRT-7 line serves 14 stations from San Jose del Monte, Bulacan to MRT-3 North Avenue in Quezon City.
The stations are: North Avenue, Quezon City Memorial Circle, University Avenue, Tandang Sora, Don Antonio, Batasan, Manggahan, Doña Carmen, Regalado, Mindanao Avenue, Quirino, Sacred Heart, Tala and San Jose del Monte.
Once the project is completed, the road component will divert northern provincial buses operation to San Jose Del Monte, thereby decongesting Epifanio delos Santos Avenue.
Transportation Secretary Arturo Tugade and MMDA chairman Danilo Lim designated Orbos as head of the revived Inter-Agency Council on Traffic (I-ACT) which was also tasked to supervise the MRT-7 project.
The Council is composed of MMDA, Department of Transportation, Department of Public Works and Highways, Police-Highway Patrol Group and local government units.
“The contractor of the rapid transit line project and several traffic volunteers will also assist in directing traffic in the area,” said Orbos.
Aside from traffic management, I-ACT will also intensify its operations against illegally-parked, colorum and out-of-line vehicles, and illegal terminals along the stretch of Commonwealth Avenue to cushion the expected traffic build-up in the area.
The reactivation of I-ACT was deemed necessary by the government to ensure proper coordination among various agencies involved in traffic and infrastructure.
Antonio Gardiola, of the Police-Highway Patrol Group, was the first I-ACT chief when the council was created in September 2016.
It was formed to promote cooperation in the fields of traffic congestion, commuters’ safety, anti-colorum operations, and enforcement of traffic rules.