Portions of Mindanao Avenue to be closed until 2028

January 12, 2025 | 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines — Some portions of Mindanao Avenue in Quezon City would become off-limits to motorists starting today until 2028 to give way for the construction of the Tandang Sora station of the Metro Manila Subway Project or MMSP.

Antonio Aganon Jr., chief engineer of Shimizu-Fujita-Takenaka-EEI Joint Venture, said the Tandang Sora station is the third to be constructed, after the North Avenue and Quirino Highway stations.

Aganon said the joint venture, which bagged the contract for the MMSP Package 1, would build the Tandang Sora station “beneath Mindanao Avenue,” which would result to the closure of at least four lanes.

Since traffic would be affected, Aganon suggested that motorist take the alternative routes.

“The option is to turn right then straight ahead until the corner of Visayas Avenue or the corner of Tandang Sora, then go back to Mindanao Avenue, and turn right again,” Aganon said.

He added that another four lanes on the southbound direction have been diverted since Sept. 14 last year, with motorists using Road 20 and General Avenue as alternate routes.

According to the Shimizu-Fujita-Takenaka-EEI Joint Venture, around 100,000 vehicles use the southbound lane of Mindanao Avenue daily. It added that at least 70,000 cars use the northbound lane.

To assist motorists, the company would install LED screens notifying them of the traffic situation at the affected portions of Mindanao Avenue.

Romando Artes, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority chairman, said a traffic management plan was discussed in a meeting with the MMSP private contractor and the Department of Transportation on Friday.

“I don’t think the closure of the lanes would affect the vehicular traffic so much. If ever (there would be an effect), it will be very minimal since they (contractor) have widened the road to compensate for the closed sections,” Artes said.

He added that motorists should not worry about getting stuck in heavy traffic along Mindanao Avenue because the private contractor pledged to build diversion roads with lanes similar to the ones to be affected by the future subway station.