MMDA General Manager Jojo Garcia says affected motorists will have to go around the Quezon Memorial Elliptical Road to head to Commonwealth Avenue eastbound
Motorists who travel along the area of Commonwealth Avenue and the Quezon Memorial Elliptical area in Quezon City, brace yourself.
Expect the already heavy traffic in the vicinity to get even heavier with the closure of the U-turn slot along the Commonwealth-Philippine Coconut Authority (Philcoa) vicinity beginning Holy Thursday, March 29, to give way to Metro Rail Transit Line 7 (MRT7) construction.
In a press briefing on Monday, March 26, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) General Manager Jojo Garcia said affected motorists, those who take the U-turn at the end of Commonwealth Avenue, will instead have to go around the entire Elliptical Road to return to Commonwealth Avenue.
Garcia said the U-turn slot will reopen August 2018.
But the closure of the U-turn is not the only "Kalbaryo" for motorists, the MMDA said private contractors will also occupy two inner lanes of Commonwealth Avenue-Philcoa area on both directions.
As a palliative, the MMDA said they would remove obstructions on the outer portions of Commonwealth Avenue to "widen" the remaining lanes.
Garcia also said that they will install plastic barriers along Maharlika Street to serve as separators to prevent vehicles going to Commonwealth Avenue from swerving into other lanes.
In the rerouting plan, MMDA said motorists going to Visayas and North Avenue should stay on the left, while those going to Commonwealth must stay on the right lane:
Some 4,120 vehicles from Elliptical Road turn to Commonwealth Avenue during the same timeframe.
Diversified conglomerate San Miguel Corporation (SMC) broke ground for the $1.6-billion MRT7 project in April 2016. The 23-kilometer railway system, which will run from North Avenue in Quezon City to San Jose del Monte City, is expected to be completed by 2020.
It will have 14 stations which will take 30 minutes to travel end-to-end: North Avenue, Quezon Memorial, University Avenue, Tandang Sora, Don Antonio, Batasan, Manggahan, Doña Carmen, Regalado Highway, Mindanao Avenue, Quirino, Sacred Heart, Tala, and San Jose del Monte.
The MRT7 will also connect to the existing MRT3 and Light Rail Transit Line 1 (LRT1), with the common station to be located between SM North EDSA and TriNoma malls in Quezon City.
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| REROUTING PLAN. The MMDA releases a rerouting plan ahead of the MRT7 construction along Commonwealth-Philcoa area in Quezon City. Photo courtesy of MMDA |
Expect the already heavy traffic in the vicinity to get even heavier with the closure of the U-turn slot along the Commonwealth-Philippine Coconut Authority (Philcoa) vicinity beginning Holy Thursday, March 29, to give way to Metro Rail Transit Line 7 (MRT7) construction.
In a press briefing on Monday, March 26, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) General Manager Jojo Garcia said affected motorists, those who take the U-turn at the end of Commonwealth Avenue, will instead have to go around the entire Elliptical Road to return to Commonwealth Avenue.
Garcia said the U-turn slot will reopen August 2018.
But the closure of the U-turn is not the only "Kalbaryo" for motorists, the MMDA said private contractors will also occupy two inner lanes of Commonwealth Avenue-Philcoa area on both directions.
As a palliative, the MMDA said they would remove obstructions on the outer portions of Commonwealth Avenue to "widen" the remaining lanes.
Garcia also said that they will install plastic barriers along Maharlika Street to serve as separators to prevent vehicles going to Commonwealth Avenue from swerving into other lanes.
In the rerouting plan, MMDA said motorists going to Visayas and North Avenue should stay on the left, while those going to Commonwealth must stay on the right lane:
- From Masaya Street
- To Commonwealth Avenue
- Right to Maharlika Street
- Right to Elliptical Road
- Right to Commonwealth Avenue
- To Visayas, North Avenue
- Left to Maharlika Street
- Right to Mayaman Street
- Right to Kalayaan Avenue
- Right to Elliptical Road
- From Elliptical-Kalayaan Junction
- To Commonwealth Avenue
- Stay at right lanes
- To Visayas, North Avenue
- Stay at left lanes
- Commonwealth Avenue (Southbound)
- To Commonwealth Avenue
- Take Elliptical Road
According to the MMDA Traffic Engineering Center, at least 2,125 vehicles traverse to portion of Elliptical Road to Visayas and North Avenue during the usual morning rush hour.
Some 4,120 vehicles from Elliptical Road turn to Commonwealth Avenue during the same timeframe.
Diversified conglomerate San Miguel Corporation (SMC) broke ground for the $1.6-billion MRT7 project in April 2016. The 23-kilometer railway system, which will run from North Avenue in Quezon City to San Jose del Monte City, is expected to be completed by 2020.
It will have 14 stations which will take 30 minutes to travel end-to-end: North Avenue, Quezon Memorial, University Avenue, Tandang Sora, Don Antonio, Batasan, Manggahan, Doña Carmen, Regalado Highway, Mindanao Avenue, Quirino, Sacred Heart, Tala, and San Jose del Monte.
The MRT7 will also connect to the existing MRT3 and Light Rail Transit Line 1 (LRT1), with the common station to be located between SM North EDSA and TriNoma malls in Quezon City.
