Motorists warned of weekend traffic slowdown for subway TBM transport

THE Department of Transportation (DOTr) on Thursday warned of possible traffic congestion in parts of Metro Manila at night from Friday to Sunday for the transport of a tunnel boring machine (TBM) used in the Metro Manila Subway Project (MMSP).

The TBM will be used to build the tunnels connecting the MMSP’s Camp Aguinaldo Station and Ortigas Station.

“Motorists are advised to take alternate routes,” the DOTr said in an advisory.

On those days, the TBM is scheduled to pass through the Manila Port / R10 from 9 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., C3 Road from 9:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m., 5th Avenue from 10:30 p.m. to 12 a.m., G. Araneta Avenue from 12 a.m. to 1:30 a.m., E. Rodriguez Sr. Avenue from 1:30 a.m. to 2 a.m., Gilmore Avenue from 2 a.m. to 3 a.m., and Col. Bonny Serrano Avenue from 3 a.m. to 4 a.m..

On March 7, DOTr Secretary Jaime Bautista said the first contract package of the MMSP — composed of a depot station in Valenzuela City and Quirino Highway, Tandang Sora, and North Avenue Stations — is 40 percent complete and on track to open for partial operations by 2029.

The MMSP is a 33-kilometer subway system that will connect Valenzuela City in the north to Pasay City in the south, with a spur line at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport. (PNA)