Motorists complain as Roxas Boulevard closed for LRT1 Cavite extension work

Motorists on Sunday night were irate after a portion of the northbound lane of Roxas Boulevard was closed to make way for the construction of the LRT1 Cavite extension.

According to Mai Bermudez's Monday Balitanghali report, the road was closed along Baclaran, Parañaque as the installation of the pi-girders for the P64.9-billion extension of the Light Rail Transit Line 1 to Cavite had reached Roxas Boulevard.

A driver said he expected that the roads would be free from traffic on a Sunday night.

“Nagkanda-ligaw ligaw na kami sa mga saradong kalsada. Naka-tatlong ikot na ‘ko. Pagdating ‘ko dito, sarado din. ‘Yung waze ko, pinapaa-u-turn ako, I don’t know, sarado din pala,” he said.

(We got lost due to the closed roads. I've gone around three times. When I came there, it was also closed. My Waze said I should make a u-turn, but I didn't know it was also closed.)

Meanwhile, a commuter said that the road closing inconvenienced the riding public as they could not get a ride home.

“Biglaan lang ‘yung ginagawa nila. Minsan perwisyo. Kaninang umaga, walang masakyan papuntang Las Piñas kasi sinara nila doon,”

(What they’re doing is sudden. It sometimes causes inconvenience. This morning, there was no transport going to Las Piñas because they closed the road there.)

There were however alternative routes opened for vehicles and people walking to Manila and Pasay.

Authorities said that the road would again be closed on Monday from 10 p.m. to 6:30 a.m.

A portion of the southbound lane of Roxas Boulevard had also been closed to motorists since January 15 to allow for the repair of a box culvert.

Light Rail Manila Corporation Spokesperson Jacqueline Gorospe apologized for the inconvenience, stressing that they needed one lane to secure enough space in the area for their personnel.

“Iyong pagsarado po ay para sa seguridad or safety ng mga dadaang sasakyan sa ibaba kasi ito ‘yung laying of pi-girders o ito ‘yung mga horizontal structures,” she said.

(The closing was done for the security and safety of the passing vehicles below because this is where the pi-girders or horizontal structures would be laid.)

Construction of the LRT1 Cavite extension started on September 1, 2019, some five years after the project was awarded to LRMC.

The project is expected to increase LRT1’s ridership from 500,000 to 800,000 daily, and reduce the travel time between Baclaran and Bacoor, Cavite to 25 minutes from one to two hours at present. — Giselle Ombay/DVM, GMA News