Exclusive - Former SBMA Chairman Proposes Bridge and Tunnel Linking Cavite and Bataan To Ease Manila Traffic

While the hearing for the emergency powers in relation to solving Metro Manila's worsening traffic is still ongoing, former Chairman of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Felicito Payumo has suggested a rather interesting way of solving this particular problem.

Payumo suggested a so-called "Trans Manila Bay Crossing" which will be a combination of a bridge and tunnel which will connect the town of Naic Cavite, passing through Manila Bay, up to the town of Mariveles Bataan. He first thought of the idea when he was on his first term as a Bataan congressman in 1987 as he got the idea from Japan's Tokyo Aqualine which is used by motorist who wants to go to Chiba Prefecture from Yokohama passing throught the Tokyo Bay.

“the Trans Manila Bay Crossing poses no right of way issue. It will not only push growth outside of Metro Manila but will also connect three regions with close to 40 percent of the population and with gross domestic product (GDP) exceeding 50 percent of our total GDP.”says Payumo.

The roads to be to connected are the Roman Highway in Bataan, the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway, the North Luzon Expressway, the Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Expressway, the Skyway Connector Road of the north and south expressways, the Skyway, the South Luzon Expressway, the Manila-Cavite Expressway the Southern Tagalog Arterial Road. and soon, will include the planned Cavite-Laguna-Expressway leads to Quezon province and the Bicol region.

"Building an access route across Manila bay is easier because roads and bridges can be constructed on Corregidor Island and smaller islands and the tunnel would only be necessary for the southern channel to Cavite,” He said.

“If there are 18 million trips each day by 13 million inhabitants in Metro Manila, add to this the pass-through trips from Southern Luzon to Central and northern Luzon and vice versa, then we know why traffic crawls on Edsa (Epifanio Delos Santos Avenue). There is only one arterial road that connects Southern Luzon to Central Luzon through Metro Manila, and that is Edsa. This pass-through traffic should not go through Metro Manila if the Cavite-Corregidor-Bataan connection is constructed.”