Heavy traffic on Quirino Avenue seen as Concordia Bridge retrofitting to take up 1 lane

Motorists are expected to go through even heavier traffic along President Quirino Avenue in Manila as one lane of Concordia Bridge will be cordoned off for construction work.

According to a Balitanghali report by GMA News' Ivan Mayrina on Wednesday, retrofitting the bridge to safe standards may take four to six months.

As one lane will alternately be closed on either side of the thoroughfare, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA)  said motorists should expect the heavy traffic situation.

"Posibleng mag-increase ng 20 percent 'yung pagbigat ng daloy ng trapiko, lalo na dito sa Concordia bridge so expect the worst case scenario talaga," MMDA spokesperson Celine Pialago said.

Traffic along Quirino Avenue has already been heavy since construction began on the Skyway Project Stage 3 in January 2015.

Meanwhile, on Commonwealth Avenue in Quezon City, three lanes near the corner of Tandang Sora Avenue have been cordoned off since Tuesday for the construction of the Metro Rail Transit 7 (MRT7).

The MMDA deployed personnel to the construction sites to help ease the traffic, which they admitted will be inevitable with the Duterte administration's Build, Build Build infrastructure projects underway.

"Konting tiis lang kasi etong Build, Build, Build projects naman ay 'yung long-term solutions na inaantay natin. Plan ahead, maaga lang ho ng pag-alis and then baon lang ho ng konting pasensya," Pialago said. — Margaret Claire Layug/BM, GMA News