Metro Manila Skyway (PNA file photo)
MANILA – A lawmaker on Monday proposed the construction of two light rail lines on C5 Road and Metro Manila Skyway to ease the traffic congestion in Metro Manila.
Manila Rep. Joel Chua, vice chair of the House Committee on Metro Manila Development, said he is willing to support through future national budgets the conduct of feasibility studies for these new light rail lines.
Chua further suggested that all the light rails be under just one unified management and have one electronic ticketing system.
"Edsa is too congested, so to give commuters options other than Edsa, there should be another light rail line on C5 and under the Skyway," Chua said. "Having these two light rail lines will decongest Edsa and make the commute easier for residents near C5 and Skyway."
He said there should also be more bridges over the Pasig River for the decongestion of major roads parallel to Edsa.
To decongest the chokepoint at the Guadalupe Bridge area connecting the cities of Makati and Mandaluyong, he said the bridge should have a second level.
"By the way, where is the retrofitting project for Guadalupe Bridge? That already has a signed loan agreement. DOF (Department of Finance) and DPWH (Department of Public Works and Highways) should update Congress soon on the status of the retrofitting project," he said.
The Philippines has secured an official development assistance loan of around 4.409-billion Japanese yen (more than PHP2 billion) from Japan to rehabilitate Guadalupe and Lambingan bridges.
According to the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), the objective of the project is to strengthen the resilience of the transport network in Metro Manila by replacing and strengthening the Guadalupe and Lambingan bridges utilizing improved bridge seismic design specifications.
"This will contribute to a more secure and sustainable economic and social development of Metro Manila and to realizing speedy recovery in case of large-scale earthquakes in the National Capital Region,” JICA said. (PNA)
