Tullahan Bridge’s repair work worsens traffic on M’Highway

Thousands of commuters and motorists were trapped in monstrous traffic jams yesterday morning on MacArthur Highway, which they blamed on the ongoing repair works at the newly-built Tullahan Bridge at the boundary of Malabon and Valenzuela.

“The left portion of the bridge if you’re going north was closed to traffic to give way to the repair works of its deteriorating approaches, causing heavy traffic up to the Monumento area,” Allan Borbe, radio operator of the Metro Manila Development Authority in north Metro, told The STAR.

Compounding the worse traffic condition, he said, was the two feet floodwater, brought about by typhoon Karen, along MacArthur Highway near the Fatima Hospital in Barangay Marulas.

“Many light vehicles, which could not pass through the flooded highway, just decided to turn back to Monumento in Caloocan and thousands of commuters stuck for more than an hour in the traffic got off the passenger jeepneys they were riding and just walked across the bridge,” Borbe said.

Trucks sent by Valenzuela City Mayor Sherwin Gatchalian, to ferry stranded passengers for free eased the commuters’ woes.

The Tullahan Bridge, opened to traffic only last November, was again the subject of complaints by the Valenzuela City government and thousands of motorists after its 250 meter edges started to erode creating huge potholes in the middle of the asphalted road.

Vehicles were forced to slow down because of the potholes causing monstrous traffic on both sides of the bridge, which is the main link of Metro Manila to the North.

Department of Public Works and Highways Secretary Hermogenes Ebdane and Sen. Ramon Revilla Jr., Senate committee on public works and highways chairman, conducted an ocular inspection of the bridge last week and both recommended the immediate repair of the bridge’s approaches.

Tullahan Bridge project engineer Ed Santos said it would take them some three months to finish the repair works.

Ferdstar Builders constructed the bridge approaches measuring some 100 meters on Malabon City side and 150 meters on the side of Valenzuela City.

It was supposed to be concrete but because of time constraint, in which the DPWH must finish the project as soon as possible, they decided to use asphalt for it could be easily installed.

The DPWH’s decision is now causing another headache to the local government of Valenzuela and the thousands of motorists and commuters affected by the problem.