THE Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) said Wednesday that the P1.46-billion Estrella-Pantaleon Bridge project connecting Makati City and Mandaluyong City is expected to be completed in the second quarter.

In a statement, Public Works and Highways Secretary Mark A. Villar said that motorists will be able to use the widened and modernized bridge in the “second quarter of 2021.”

The Chinese-funded project is now 72% complete and is 8% ahead of schedule, the department added.

The project is part of the government’s EDSA decongestion program.

“Designed to decongest Guadalupe Bridge along EDSA, the main bridge of Estrella Pantaleon is a 146.0-meter prestressed concrete girder bridge with V-shaped piers, while the approach bridge/viaduct is a 66.0-meter prestressed continuous girder bridge. The approach roads at both sides have a length of 294.46 meters,” the DPWH said.

The DPWH announced in January 2019 that it would close the old Estrella-Pantaleon Bridge for 30 months for “demolition and reconstruction.”

The project is among the 14 agreements signed during Chinese Premier Li Keqiang’s state visit to Manila in November 2017. — Arjay L. Balinbin