Guadalupe Bridge
Background
The modern-day Guadalupe Bridge, which is part of EDSA, consists of an inner bridge and two outer bridges.
Plans to finalize the then-partially opened Highway 54 (now EDSA) and link the north and south banks of the Pasig River were conceived in the 1950s. The bridge was originally a narrow bridge that underwent replacement in the 1960s. Construction began in 1962 or 1963 and was finished on November 23, 1966. It was later widened beginning in 1974.
The two outer bridges were constructed in 1979 with Umali-Pajara Construction Company as its general contractor. The length of the bridge from its two abutments is 114.44 meters (375.5 ft). The outer bridges have 10 lanes in total and a junction at the Makati side of the bridge connects to J. P. Rizal Avenue. Each outer bridge is around 18.7 meters (61 ft) in width, has 5 lanes that are 3.35 meters (11.0 ft) each and a 1.2-meter (3.9 ft) pedestrian sidewalk near the railings. Located on its median of the road bridge is the Guadalupe station of EDSA Carousel, which began operations in 2020.
A separate but unconnected tied-arch rail bridge of the Manila Metro Rail Transit System Line 3 exists above the road bridge. The rail bridge, which hovers above the road bridge and constructed by the EEI Corporation, has a length of 135 meters (443 ft) and a width of 9.1 meters (30 ft).
According to a December 2013 report by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), the Guadalupe Bridge has the highest traffic volume among 12 main bridges in Metro Manila, with 220,000 vehicles crossing the bridge daily.
Planned renovation
By 2016, the bridge has been identified as one of the structures expected to collapse following a hypothetical strong earthquake in Metro Manila. Major repairs were done on the bridge in 2019.
The outer bridges were replaced by three-span steel deck box girders while the inner bridge assessed by JICA to be in good condition was retrofitted. The pedestrian sidewalk was expanded to 1.5 meters (4.9 ft) while the outer bridges continued to have 10 lanes in total.
Retrofitting works on the bridge, funded by JICA, are scheduled to begin in the third quarter of 2024.