Those looking forward to the opening of LRT-2 East Extension would have to wait a bit longer. The Light Rail Transit 2 (LRT-2)  East Extension Project, supposedly to start operations this week as announced by Department of Transportation (DOTr) Secretary Arthur Tugade last Friday, has been moved to July.

The Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA) has just announced that the inauguration and opening of the east extension project of the LRT-2 have been moved next month to give more time for final checks and preparations. The LRTA has stated that the opening was moved in order to “give maximum time for the contractor to complete the signaling migration and integration works and other preparatory activities.”

Initially planned to be inaugurated today, June 22, the new extension projects, which includes the Marikina and Antipolo stations are now scheduled to be inaugurated on July 5, and open to the public the next day, July 6.

The LRT-2 East Extension Project broke ground last June 2015 with D.M. Consunji, Inc. as the contractor and has a total allocated budget of P2.27 billion.

The project includes the construction of an elevated viaduct that spans a total of 4 kilometers going from Santolan in Pasig to Masinag in Antipolo. It also includes the construction of two new LRT-2 stations located in the said areas.

Once operational, the new east extension of the LRT-2 is expected to accommodate an additional 75,000 passengers daily. It will also be able to cut travel time from Recto to Antipolo from the original 3 hours by bus and jeepneys to only 40 minutes via LRT-2.

In other related news, LRT-2 operations from Recto to Santolan will be temporarily stopped on the weekends of June 26 to 27 and July 3 to 4 due to the integration of the signaling systems of the new Marikina and Antipolo stations.