Tunnel boring machine to be moved; heavy traffic seen

Motorists may experience heavy traffic on some roads in Metro Manila this weekend when the tunnel boring machine for the Metro Manila Subway Project is transferred from Manila to Quezon City.

The boring machine provided by Sumitomo Mitsui Construction Co. Ltd. will be used to build the tunnels that will connect the subway’s Camp Aguinaldo and Ortigas stations, the Department of Transportation (DOTr) said in an advisory on Thursday.

The massive machine will be transported in segments from the Manila Harbor Center. At least seven roads in Metro Manila may experience heavy traffic between 10 p.m. and 4 a.m. from May 10 to 12, the DOTr added.

Transport route

During those dates, motorists should avoid R-10 in Navotas City between 10 p.m. and 10:30 p.m.; C-3 Road in Caloocan City between 10:30 p.m. and 11:30 p.m.; and 5th Avenue, also in Caloocan, between 11:30 p.m. and 12:30 a.m.

In Quezon City, the affected roads are G. Araneta Avenue between 12:30 a.m. and 1:30 a.m.; E. Rodriguez Sr. Avenue from 1:30 a.m. to 2 a.m., Gilmore Avenue between 2 a.m. and 3 a.m., and Col. Bonny Serrano Avenue between 3 a.m. and 4 a.m.

“Motorists are advised to take alternate routes. We apologize for the inconvenience and thank you for your understanding,” the DOTr said.

The first boring machine was transported on the same route to Camp Aguinaldo Station in March with police and safety personnel escorts. A second machine arrived in April for the tunneling works for the Ortigas Avenue-Kalayaan Avenue segment in Quezon City.

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The 33-kilometer Metro subway project consisting of 17 stations will run from north to south between Valenzuela and Pasay cities, with a branch line to Ninoy Aquino International Airport. Partial operation is being eyed by 2027 while full operation is being targeted by 2029.

The DOTr’s Special Action and Intelligence Committee for Transportation (SAICT), meanwhile, said it apprehended 32 vehicles on Thursday for their unauthorized use of the Edsa busway.

From Jan. 1 to May 9, the SAICT’s special operations unit caught a total of 1,525 unauthorized vehicles, including 595 motorcycles, 500 private and public vehicles, 20 government units/ambulances and 410 buses and/or trucks. INQ