Surprise, Manila motorists and commuters, there is yet another change to your unpredictable roads.
A portion of North Avenue in Quezon City is now closed to motorists starting today in an effort to ease traffic congestion on the Elliptical Road (aka Quezon Memorial Circle), the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) announced.
The announcement was just released yesterday, surprising many drivers who had no idea the change was going to happen.
MMDA General Manager Jojo Garcia said in a statement that the traffic agency wanted to address the chokepoint area on the Elliptical Road.
The portion of North Avenue leading to the Elliptical Road, which has ongoing construction for the Metro Rail Transit Line 7 (MRT7) project, was closed off to motorists at 6am today.
A lot of motorists will be affected by the sudden change.
According to MMDA’s Traffic Engineering Center, Elliptical Road is traversed by 8,728 vehicles while 1,419 vehicles traverse North Avenue heading to the Elliptical Road during the early morning rush.
The traffic agency has not announced when they plan to open North Avenue again so motorists will just have to be surprised again.
The MRT7 project, which is a 23-km rapid-transit line that’ll lessen travel time from Bulacan to Quezon City to just 30 minutes, is due to be completed in 2021. It was initially scheduled for completion in 2020, but due to right-of-way issues, it was pushed back a year.
Motorists coming from North Avenue are advised to turn right at the more spacious Agham Road as an alternate route. From there, motorists can then turn left at Quezon Avenue to get to the Elliptical Road.
Garcia also said in the statement that the traffic agency will continue the dry run of its yellow lane policy along the Elliptical Road which started on Jan. 16.
Vehicles that are on the yellow lanes with solid markings are now prohibited from swerving, changing lanes, or overtaking under the new policy. Motorists are only allowed to cross through the broken lines one lane at a time.
In short, motorists must stay on their lanes, which might be a bit of a problem, since it’s a roundabout and all. At some point, motorists will have to change lanes to exit the roadway.
“Please stay in your lane while driving along Elliptical Road. A major cause of traffic congestion in the area is motorists swerving, crisscrossing or making a sudden change of lane that create a chain reaction,” Garcia said.
Right now, erring drivers will not be punished yet but if the policy gets fully implemented, violators will be fined PHP1,000 (US$18.93).
