President Rodrigo Roa Duterte inaugurated on Thursday, July 29, 2021 the Estrella – Pantaleon Bridge, a modern bridge that will connect the cities of Mandaluyong and Makati within five (5) minutes.
The President was joined by Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Huang Xilian, Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Mark A. Villar, Senator Christopher Lawrence Bong Go, and Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea in the symbolic unveiling of bridge marker at Rockwell, Makati City.
The event was also attended by Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade, Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez, MMDA Chairman Benhur Abalos, DPWH Undersecretary Emil K. Sadain, and Mandaluyong City Mayor Carmelita Abalos.
Built at a cost of P1.46 Billion, the Estrella – Pantaleon Bridge Project is one of the two (2) bridges funded by a grant of the People’s Republic of China — the other one is Binondo-Intramuros Bridge in Manila expected to be finished at the end of the year.
The President expressed his appreciation to the Chinese government’s generosity in funding the construction of this new bridge that has not only improved mobility and connectivity but also enhanced the resilience against natural disasters.
Secretary Villar said that this modern bridge across Pasig River is expected to accommodate about 50,000 vehicles daily and is among the projects under the Metro Manila Logistics Improvement Network to address traffic congestion including that of EDSA.
Construction of 506.46 meters bridge began on January 2019 under the implementation of DPWH Unified Project Management Office (UPMO) Operations headed by Undersecretary
Sadain, who together with Secretary Villar were at the forefront of ensuring the quality completion despite the challenges of this project under the Build Build Build program.
While this pandemic may slowed down and disrupted the implementation of this bridge project, the DPWH UPMO Roads Management Cluster 1 Team headed by Project Director Benjamin Bautista, former Project Director Virgilio Castillo and Project Manager Melchor Kabiling and with the contractor China Road and Bridge Corporation have worked double time, added Secretary Villar.
This new four (4)-lane bridge with added aesthetic value of V-shaped piers is made of pre-stressed concrete rigid frame with corrugated steel webs, replacing the temporary two-lane box truss bridge dismantled in 2019.