MANILA – Will a P55-million road widening project finally decongest vehicular traffic along Katipunan Avenue fronting the University of the Philippines – Diliman Campus? The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), which is now rushing the project for completion, hopes so.
Secretary Mark A. Villar inspected the ongoing construction of two additional concrete lanes between Shuster Street and C.P. Garcia Avenue (South Bound) in Quezon City. The 720- linear meter road project will help alleviate perennial traffic problem in the area, especially during rush hour, he said.
It is part of the DPWH traffic decongestion efforts through the widening of existing road networks to improve road capacity. As part of this effort, the DPWH Quezon City Second District Engineering Office is working hard to expedite construction of additional road lanes at Katipunan Avenue.
“We intend to finish the widening of Katipunan Avenue before December 2017, just in time for the Christmas Holiday Rush,” Villar said.
Meanwhile, DPWH has also officially started the Katipunan Avenue Extention Project, a 5.85-km road from Katipunan Avenue to Batasan-San Mateo Road. This includes a 1.146 kilometer portion of Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS ) property.
The road with alignment within Vista Real and Loyola Grand Villa is DPWH Quezon City First District Engineer Roseller Tolentino’s response to Secretary Villar’s directive to find an alternate route for areas encountering heavy traffic. Both Katipunan – site of big schools like Ateneo and Miriam College – and Commonwealth Avenues have this perennial problem especially during rush hours.
Besides avoiding vehicular traffic, the construction Katipunan Avenue Extension to Batasan-San Mateo Road will also cut travel distance in going to Marikina City and Fairview compared to the present route via Commonwealth Avenue of about 6.75 kilometers.
