Bridges are a critical link to the development of a modern city. They essentially ease traffic congestion in the cityscape by providing alternative routes and access to the rest of the bigger metropolitan area.
Metro Manila needs such bridges to connect major cities and municipalities, and improve travel time. The Asian Development Bank offered timely assistance the other day after approving a $175-million (around P8.75 billion) loan to help the Philippine government build three new climate- and disaster-resilient bridges over the Marikina River to improve road traffic flow, amid the rapid urbanization of Metro Manila.
The new projects aim to connect motorists to the planned Marcos Highway–St. Mary Avenue Bridge, Homeowner’s Drive–A. Bonifacio Bridge and Kabayani Street–Matandang Balara Bridge. The bridges, in the words of the ADB, will create jobs, improve the living conditions of residents near the river and provide them with better access to the rest of Metro Manila.700
Metro Manila’s rapid urbanization has resulted in heavy traffic congestion that, in turn, causes “substantial loss of time and opportunities for commuters and businesses, respectively.” The National Economic and Development Authority earlier estimated that the country lost P3.5 billion a day in 2017 due to Metro Manila’s traffic. The loss is projected to reach P5.4 billion a day in 2035 if no action is taken.
The Philippines, perhaps, can learn from the Seoul experience. The South Korean capital supplemented its development as a modern metropolis through the construction of 31 bridges over the Han River linking metropolitan Seoul and some parts of Gyeonggi, the most populous province surrounding the capital city.
The Pasig River and the Marikina River are two of the major waterways that snake around Metro Manila. More bridges over these two rivers will certainly decongest the traffic along the cities traversed by the waterways. New business and livelihood opportunities will then emerge from these infrastructure projects—and that’s progress.