AFTER the total makeover of the dipalidated Manila City Hall Underpass and its successful reopening recently, Mayor Isko Moreno said Lawton underpass will soon follow suit.
Moreno said plans are already being polished for the refurbishment of the Lawton underpass which connects the Park ‘N Ride area to the Intramuros area.
The said underpass caters mainly to thousands of students particularly from the Colegio de San Juan de Letran and the Lyceum of the Philippines as well as employes of establishments in the area.
For the past years, students have put up with the said underpass’ smelly and dirty state, with the area even turning muddy during rainy days.
The makeover of the Lawton underpass comes after Moreno and Vice Mayor Honey Lacuna recently opened the new Manila City Hall (MCH) Underpass which connects City Hall to Intramuros, after its renovation began in March. When Moreno assumed office, said the underpass was very dirty, smelly and congested with vendors.
The new, modern Manila City Hall Underpass is now clean, bright, modern and sports vertical gardens, with stairs and walls dotted with colorful art work and murals done by various artists and featuring the city’s rich history.
It also features an information map of jeepney lines in the city and a digital information kiosk that guides tourists, visitors or even locals looking for specific places within the city.
A portion was also dedicated in honor of the frontliners in this time of the pandemic.
City engineer Armand Andres, who was at the top of the gargantuan work alongside the mayor, said no city funds were used in the renovation works, saying the donations of those who support the mayor and a collaboration with various national government agencies did the trick.
Andres said the new MCH Underpass is equipped with closed circuit television cameras, making use of high-tech facial recognition which, along with security personnel, will be used to protect the users round-the-clock.
Non-skid tiles were used on the flooring so that no one slips even during the rainy season when the floors are expected to inevitably get wet while the ceilings were refurbished and vertical wall gardens were also put inside, Andres added.
