THE METROPOLITAN Manila Development Authority (MMDA) on Wednesday said the southbound portion of Roxas Boulevard will be closed to motorists starting 6 a.m., Jan. 15 to give way to the repair of a damaged drainage structure.

The move is expected to affect hundreds of cargo trucks and trailer trucks that ply the southbound lane every day.

The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) will have to “immediately” carry out rehabilitation work on the southbound lane of Roxas Boulevard, fronting HK Sun Plaza in Pasay City going to the flyover of EDSA-Roxas Boulevard, the MMDA said in a statement. The DPWH will repair the damaged box culvert that was constructed in the 1970s.

“Currently, 887 cargo trucks and 1,029 trailers per day are traversing the Roxas Boulevard southbound direction alone,” it noted.

As an alternate route for affected motorists, the MMDA said light vehicles from Bonifacio Drive/Roxas Boulevard can take the Roxas Boulevard-Buendia Avenue service road, turn right at Buendia Avenue Extension, and then left at Diosdado Macapagal Boulevard to reach their destination.

They can also turn right at the HK Sun Plaza access road then left at Diosdado Macapagal Boulevard to their destination, or left at President Quirino Avenue to their destination.

As for trucks and trailers and other vehicles from Bonifacio Drive going to Roxas Boulevard southbound, the agency said they can turn left to P. Burgos Avenue, then straight towards Finance Road and Ayala Boulevard, then right to San Marcelino Street, and then P. Quirino Avenue to South Luzon Expressway to their destination.

“According to DPWH, because of the structural integrity of their project, the structure might weaken,” MMDA Chairman Benjamin D. Abalos, Jr. said, referring to the need to close the Roxas Boulevard southbound portion.

Additional traffic enforcers will be deployed during the 60 days of repair work.

The MMDA also plans to implement a zipper lane or counterflow scheme for light vehicles “on a case-to-case basis.”

Mr. Abalos and officials from the Department of Transportation, DPWH, Philippine Ports Authority, and International Container Terminal Services, Inc. met last month to discuss solutions for trucks and trailers which will be affected by the closure.

Among the solutions eyed was for the container vans to be carried on barges for transport from the Manila International Container Terminal to the Cavite Gateway Terminal in Tanza, Cavite. — Arjay L. Balinbin

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