The Binondo-Intramuros Bridge is on track to be completed this year amid the coronavirus pandemic, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) said on Thursday.

DPWH Secretary Mark Villar made the announcement during the inspection of the two-way four-lane bridge which will soon become a new iconic landscape in the City of Manila.

He added that the implementing office DPWH Unified Project Management Office – Roads Management Cluster 1 (UPMO-RMC 1) and contractor China Road and Bridge Corporation have made efforts to speed up work progress to ensure that the PHP3.39 billion project will be completed by this fourth quarter.

Upon completion, the project will carry extra traffic of around 30,000 vehicles per day and ease the traffic congestion between the Binondo and Intramuros.

He added that the bridge project will extend the life of existing Jones, Delpan and MacArthur bridges by decongesting traffic, reducing bridge maintenance cost requirements.

Meanwhile, DPWH Undersecretary for UPMO Operations Emil Sadain said the project’s overall progress is about 60 percent.

He reported that the 70 meters Main Bridge with steel arch and support steel bowstring is being pushed from pier 4 to pier 5, the temporary platforms will be removed within two weeks period to lower the main bridge to its final position.

The project involves the construction of basket-handle tied steel arch bridge with a total length of 680 lineal meters connecting historic district of Intramuros at Solana Street and Riverside Drive with the bustling district of Binondo at Rentas Street/Plaza del Conde Street and Muelle dela Industria having a viaduct structure over Estero de Binondo.

The design of the arch bridge which symbolizes the friendly cooperation between the Philippines and China conforms to new seismic design specifications and climate change considerations.

Design and construction of Binondo-Intramuros Bridge, as well as the ongoing Estrella-Pantaleon Bridge in Makati/Mandaluyong, are funded by a grant of China and considered first-ever infrastructure partnership project under the present administration between the Filipinos and Chinese.

The bridge will improve the capacity and efficiency of the road transport network in Metro Manila by providing additional fix links and additional routes crossing the Pasig River.

The project is part of the Metro Manila Logistics Improvement Program to address the long-held dilemma of traffic gridlock in major roads by constructing new bridges crossing Pasig and Marikina Rivers, and Manggahan Floodway.

Meanwhile, the DPWH-UPMO Operations is also looking to fully complete Estrella Pantaleon Bridge connecting Makati and Mandaluyong by the third quarter and Sta. Monica-Lawton Bridge, a component of the Bonifacio Global City (BGC)-Ortigas Center Link Project connecting business districts of Ortigas in Pasig City and BGC in Taguig City. (PNA)