Lagusnilad underpass reopens to traffic

The vital arterial roadway of Lagusnilad, which connects the Lawton area right after Quezon Boulevard to the long stretch of Taft Avenue fronting the Manila City hall building, has reopened.

 Princess Abante, City Media Bureau chief, announced Monday that the road which underwent major repair will reopen today after it was closed on 2 May and suffered short delays due to technical glitches.

The renovation and upgrading job was jointly conducted by the local government of Manila and the DPWH-NCR on a 50-50 cost sharing of the total project.

Earlier, Mayor Honey Lacuna said that although Lagusnilad is  a national road, Manila took the initiative to push for the project as the city earned criticism, it being in front of the City Hall.

It will be recalled that the said roadway underpass almost always was rendered unpassable during floodings as all of its pumping machines were already old and no longer functioning.

Lagusnilad is the first such vehicular underpass in the Philippines and in Asia. The underpass was built in the 1960s during the tenure of Mayor Antonio Villegas.