Heavy traffic expected in Marikina, Cainta and Antipolo due to LRT-2 Masinag extension project — MMDA

Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) Undersecretary Julianito G. Bucayan Jr. (2nd from left) leads the ribbon-cutting ceremony during the groundbreaking for the construction of the Light Rail Transit (LRT) Line 2 East extension project to Masinag in Antipolo City on Tuesday (June 9, 2015). The PhP2.27-billion LRT-2 Masinag extension project will add 4.2 kilometers to the existing line from Recto Ave. in Manila to Santolan, Pasig City. Also in photo at the groundbreaking ceremony along Marcos Highway in Santolan, Pasig City were Antipolo City Mayor Casimiro Ynares III, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Chief Representative Noriaki Niwa, Antipolo Rep. Roberto Puno, Marikina Mayor Del de Guzman, and Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA) Administrator Honorito Chaneco. (PNA photo by Joey O. Razon)

MANILA — The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) is advising motorists and commuters alike to brace for heavy traffic in the areas of Marikina, Cainta and Antipolo due to the construction of the Light Rail Transit (LRT) Line 2 East Expansion Project starting this month.

MMDA General Manager Corazon Jimenez said that detailed traffic management scheme is needed so that private motorists, public utility vehicle drivers and commuters can prepare and plan their daily road trips.

“Motorists and residents in the nearby Antipolo, Marikina and Cainta, I’m sure, will be affected by the construction and we’re expecting heavy traffic there. We know that the DOTC studied this project carefully and we expect them to submit the traffic plan,” Jimenez told reporters.

Prior to the construction works, the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) is required to submit first a traffic management plan to the MMDA, the agency which gives the proponents the green light to start the project.

DOTC Undersecretary Julianito G. Bucayan Jr. led the groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of the project on Tuesday at the LRT-2 Santolan Station together with Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA) Administrator Honorito Chaneco and representatives of D.M. Consunji Inc., the contractor.

“The LRT-2 system is a crucial transportation service that hundreds of thousands of passengers rely on. We are pleased to extend its scope to even more stakeholders in the eastern part of Metro Manila, many of whom go into the metropolis for work and school on a daily basis,” DOTC Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya said.

The PhP2.27-billion project will add 4.2 kilometers to the LRT Line 2 from the Santolan Station to Masinag, Antipolo City.

Two additional stations will be built in the area: the Emerald Station in front of Robinsons Place Metro East in Cainta, Rizal and the Masinag Station at the Masinag Junction in Antipolo City.

The Masinag extension also covers the construction of a four-kilometer elevated viaduct from Santolan in Pasig City to Masinag.

The project will add more than 75,000 passengers to the over 200,000 daily passengers of LRT Line 2.

It is expected to be finished by the third quarter of 2017.