Meralco Avenue to be closed starting October 3

MANILA, Philippines — Portions of Meralco Avenue, one of the busiest thoroughfares in Pasig City, will be closed to traffic starting next month until 2028 to make way for civil works for the Shaw Boulevard segment of the P488.48-billion Metro Manila subway project.

The Department of Transportation (DOTr) yesterday advised motorists to avoid the northbound and southbound lanes of Meralco Avenue when construction of the Shaw Boulevard station of the subway begins on Oct. 3.

“The road closure will take effect until 2028 and will cover the front section of Capitol Commons up to Shaw Boulevard,” the DOTr said.

Meralco Avenue will serve as the access point to the Shaw Boulevard station of the Metro Manila Subway.

The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority, Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board as well as the city governments of Pasig and Mandaluyong outlined alternative routes that motorists can take.

Under the traffic rerouting scheme, traditional jeepneys headed to Shaw Boulevard from Meralco Avenue will be redirected to Captain Henry Javier street to Danny Floro street.

Modern jeepneys will be rerouted to Doña Julia Vargas Avenue to San Miguel Avenue.

UV Express vehicles will be given the same option as the modern jeepneys. They can also access Anda Road to Camino Verde.

Private vehicles can access all available routes, according to the DOTr.

The DOTr appealed for understanding from motorists during the almost six-year disruption the civil works will cause. The subway project will be the country’s first underground railway.

The P488.48-billion subway funded by Japan will stretch for 33 kilometers across seven cities, from Valenzuela to Pasay.

The railway is estimated to reduce travel time between Quezon City, where five of the stations will be built, and the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) to just 35 minutes.

Last May, infrastructure builder Megawide Construction Corp. bagged Contract Package (CP) 104 of the Metro Manila subway project. The contract, amounting to P17.75 billion, includes the stations of Ortigas North and Ortigas South as well as the tunnels connecting them.

Megawide president and chief executive officer Edgar Saavedra earlier said the company would join the bidding for CP 105, which is made up of stations from Shaw Boulevard to Bonifacio Global City in Taguig.

After the station in BGC, the Metro Manila Subway stretches to five stations: Lawton, Senate and FTI in Taguig, Bicutan in Parañaque and the NAIA in Pasay City.