LRT-MRT link project delayed

STATE-RUN Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA) has pushed back to next year the completion of the project linking the country’s existing railways due to delays in construction. The LRTA said the EDSA loop or the connection of Light Rail Transit Line 1 (LRT 1) and Metro Rail Transit Line 3 (MRT 3) will be closed by December next year.

The LRT 1 runs from Baclaran in Pasay City to Monumento in Caloocan City, while the MRT 3 runs from North Avenue in Quezon City to Taft in Pasay.

The former administration’s plan was to close the loop in May this year.

The government will close the loop through the construction of the LRT 1 North Extension from Caloocan to Quezon City.

The project involves the construction of a 5.7-kilometer elevated line seamlessly from Monumento Station of LRT 1 to North Avenue Station of MRT 3, with three new stations such as Balintawak, Roosevelt and a Common Station.

Of the three stations of the LRT 1 North Extension, only the Balintawak station has opened for commercial operation.
The LRTA said the opening of the Roosvelt station is targeted by the fourth quarter of this year.

The construction of the common station in SM Annex in Quezon City is expected to start in the first quarter of next year and will be completed by first quarter in 2012.

The original completion of the project is November this year.

The common station will also connect the $1.235 billion 20-kilometer MRT 7 that will run from the San Jose del Monte station in Bulacan to the SM City station in North Avenue.

The LRTA also said that the project cost of the LRT 1 has ballooned to P9.64 billion from the original cost of P6.32 billion.

The rail authority said the revised project cost includes the cost of construction of the common station, and the proposed Malvar Station in Caloocan City and additional unit rolling stock. –DARWIN G. AMOJELAR SENIOR REPORTER, Manila Times