MANILA – The steel parts of the Estrella-Pantaleon Bridge, also known as Rockwell Bridge, will be donated to the government of Pangasinan province for use in the construction of another bridge there.
This, as the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) and the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) agreed that the steel frames of the said bridge be transported to Pangasinan for the construction of the Santiago Bridge in the municipality of Bolinao.
The agreement was reached in a meeting attended by Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea, DPWH Secretary Mark Villar, MMDA Chairman Danilo Lim, MMDA General Manager Jojo Garcia and Pangasinan officials led by Gov. Amado Espino III, Cong. Amado Espino Jr. and former Department of Transportation Undersecretary Tim Orbos at the Malacañang Palace earlier this week.
"After its demolition, the steel remnants of Estrella-Pantaleon bridge will be transported to Pangasinan and will be reused as steel frames for the planned Santiago Bridge as they are still in mint condition," Orbos said in a statement Wednesday.
For his part, Garcia said the government is actively promoting sustainable consumption to infrastructure investments in support of the Sustainable Development Goals, which the Philippines pledged support to.
“This move will reduce economic and environmental costs to the government. Instead of acquiring again material of the same kind for constructing a bridge, we will just make use of what we already have that are still structurally sound," Garcia said.
The Estrella-Pantaleon Bridge connecting Makati City and Mandaluyong City will be demolished to pave the way for the construction of a new bridge, widening to four lanes its existing two lanes and make it earthquake-resilient.
The road works along the bridge started last January 19 and is expected to last for two and a half years.
Meanwhile, the planned Santiago Bridge will connect seven barangays of Bolinao to the main Luzon Island, benefiting more than 20,000 residents of the municipality, according to Pangasinan Gov. Espino.
The project is expected to be completed by 2021. (PNA)
