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Muelle del Rio
The Muelle del Rio is a riverside road that stretches from Quezon Blvd. (from the ramp of Quezon Bridge) to Plaza Mexico in Intramuros. The road passes under the McArthur and Jones Bridges that cross the Pasig River, and behind buildings such as the Manila Central Post Office, the National Press Club, the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and the Bureau of Immigration.
The stretch from McArthur Bridge behind the Manila Central Post Office is clear of squatters but there are many garbage, mainly plastics, strewn everywhere. There are people “residing” under McArthur Bridge and these homeless people have only their carts or cardboard boxes to protect them from the elements.
The lamp posts along the road look like they were inspired by the capiz windows of old houses. The homeless include the individual pictured here who was washing clothes using the flowing water from various sources including a leaking water pipe. This section is often flooded during the wet season due in part to its location and elevation with respect to the Pasig River.
The underpass at Jones Bridge is another section that is usually flooded during the wet season. A staircase connects the bridge and the riverside walkway cum park. The bridge is currently mentioned in news reports regarding the film “The Bourne Legacy” that will be shot in Manila. The bridge is an old one and considered a landmark in Manila. It has been the subject of many old photos and has been romanticized in paintings.
Vehicles parked along the linear park across the road from behind the Bureau of Immigration. The park is not supposed to be a parking facility but due to a lack of parking spaces for the Bureau and not too many people using the park anyways, parking was tolerated. Perhaps it is better than having such vehicles occupy precious road space. Further down the road, the red tile roof of a Pasig River Ferry terminal is visible.
The Plaza Mexico Station of the Pasig River Ferry. the Ferry services were suspended last year due to many problems including the lack of passengers.
Plaza Mexico is only a stone’s throw away from the ferry terminal shown in the preceding photo and is already within the walls of Intramuros. Among the historical buildings in the vicinity are the Intendencia, Almacenes and the Aduana, which were buildings from the Spanish Period. Some are currently being restored as part of a heritage initiative in Manila spearheaded by the Intramuros Administration.
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Roadway subject to flooding
The outbound approach to the bridge along Marcos Highway was quite congested this morning due to the closure of the underpass leading to C5 located just in front of SM City Marikina. The section was closed to traffic due to flooding caused by Typhoon Pedring (International name: Nesat). Pedring’s rains caused the Marikina River to swell up and inundate significant areas along its banks including what looked like the lower level parking area of the mall. Traffic bound for C5 from Marikina, Pasig and the towns of Rizal had to be diverted to the Riverbanks road via the service road after the bridge. The result was traffic congestion as 6 lanes of traffic tried to squeeze into what was effectively 4 lanes of bridge including the bypass structure fronting SM that eventually merges into 3 lanes of road on the other end.
Following are a few photos I took while en route to the office this morning:
A gate bars access to the underpass connecting to a bridge leading to C5. The sign on the right states: “Roadway subject to FLOODING,” and is a permanent sign placed there to condition the mind of travelers about what may happen should there be inclement weather. This is supposed to be an example of a design where there’s no choice but to sacrifice according to the character of the area. Still, the question on many people’s minds probably is why were other designs that won’t be subject to flooding considered in the first place? Such would surely be worth it considering the frequency our climate and the probability of flooding?
Mud and muddy water on the underpass as seen from the bridge. Such is a scene reminiscent of the aftermath of Ondoy (International name: Ketsana) in 2009, exactly 2 years ago to the day.
A peek into SM Marikina’s lower level environs show thick mud that settled on the service road and the mall’s lower parking area. The mall’s design already factored the anticipation of floods brought about by the swelling of the river during powerful typhoons such as Pedring and Ondoy. The mall was, after all, constructed on the flood plain, which is an unusual and uncommon location for such developments.
Garbage comprising mainly of plastic trapped on the SM screen fence. These were part of the flotsam and jetsam from the Marikina River. Such debris are evidence of the state of waste disposal and mismanagement in areas along the Marikina River. It is clear that people still have not learned from past experiences and government is partly to blame for this, particularly at the local level.
Caught (up) in traffic 