Mel Lopez Boulevard

Mel Lopez Boulevard is a 6.2-kilometer (3.9 mi), six-to-ten lane divided highway in northern Manila, Philippines, connecting Bonifacio Drive in Port Area in the south with Radial Road 10 (R-10) in Navotas in the north. The highway is the main component of the R-10 network and is an extension of Bonifacio Drive and Roxas Boulevard (Radial Road 1 or R-1) north of the Anda Circle running north–south through the Manila North Port area serving the coastal Tondo and Navotas communities.

Mel Lopez Boulevard

R-10 R-1
Radial Road 10
The boulevard near Vitas Tenement in Tondo
Former name(s)Marcos Road
Bonifacio Drive (south of Pasig River)
NamesakeMel Lopez
Ferdinand Marcos (formerly)
Maintained byDepartment of Public Works and Highways
Length6.2 km (3.9 mi)
Component
highways
LocationManila
North endMaralla Bridge over Estero de Marala in Tondo
Major
junctions		 N140 (Capulong Street)
Moriones Street
N145 (Recto Avenue)
South endAnda Circle in Port Area and Intramuros
Construction
Construction start1976
Completion1979

Route description
Housing developments at the former Smokey Mountain landfill

Mel Lopez Boulevard originates at Anda Circle, the intersection of Andres Soriano Avenue, Bonifacio Drive, and Roberto Oca Street, as a continuation of Bonifacio Drive (formerly Malecon Drive) in Port Area. It crosses the Pasig River via Roxas Bridge (also known as Mel Lopez Bridge and Del Pan Bridge), where the road transitions from R-1 to R-10, and comes into an intersection with Recto Avenue at the district boundary of San Nicolas and Tondo. The boulevard then heads northwest toward Pier 4 of the Manila North Harbor before bending north into the Moriones and Don Bosco villages of Tondo. The road passes east of the entire Manila North Port terminal complex and leaves Barrio Magsaysay for Barrio Vitas past Capulong Street (C-2). Continuing north, it soon crosses over the Estero de Vitas (Vitas Creek) and enters the Balut area of Tondo where the old dumpsite of Smokey Mountain is located. The boulevard terminates at the Maralla Bridge, which crosses over the Estero de Marala (Estero de Sunog Apog).

North of the estero, the boulevard extends into the reclaimed fish port complex of Navotas running parallel to North Bay Boulevard as Radial Road 10 (R-10), which runs up to Circumferential Road 4 (C-4) above the Tullahan River.

History

Radial Road 10 was built on reclaimed land called Tondo Foreshoreland, reclaimed in the 1950s as part of a government plan to expand and improve port facilities in Manila. It soon became the resettlement site of thousands of urban poor families that turned the area into what was once Southeast Asia's largest squatter colony.[1] The road itself was constructed between 1976 and 1979 as part of the Manila Urban Development Project of the Marcos administration, and was initially named Marcos Road.[2]

In January 2017, a bill was filed by Buhay Party-List Representative and former Manila Mayor Lito Atienza in the Philippine House of Representatives changing the name of this portion of Radial Road 10 to Mayor Gemiliano Lopez Boulevard in honor of the late Manila Mayor Mel Lopez.[3] In April 2019, President Rodrigo Duterte signed Republic Act No. 11280, officially renaming the highway to Mel Lopez Boulevard.[4][5] With the renaming, the segment of Bonifacio Drive from Anda Circle to Roxas Bridge became part of Mel Lopez Boulevard.

Landmarks
Moriones Gate of the Manila North Harbor

References
  1. Case Study: Zoto and the twice-told story of Philippine community organizing published by the University of the Philippines Diliman; accessed 2013-12-18.
  2. Presidential Decree No. 931 published by The Lawphil Project; accessed 2013-12-18.
  3. House Bill No. 4737 (2017), An Act Renaming the Portion of Radial Road 10 Traversing the City of Manila as the Mayor Gemiliano Lopez Boulevard (PDF), retrieved 15 February 2017
  4. "Road in Manila renamed to honor late sportsman and politician Mel Lopez". BusinessWorld. 20 May 2019. Retrieved 31 July 2019.
  5. Republic Act No. 11280 (12 April 2019), AN ACT RENAMING THE PORTION OF RADIAL ROAD 10 TRAVERSING BONIFACIO DRIVE AT ANDA CIRCLE IN STATION KILOMETER (STA KM) 1+100, UP TO MARALA BRIDGE AT THE FOOT OF ESTERO DE MARALA STA KM 6+445, ALL IN THE CITY OF MANILA AS MEL LOPEZ BOULEVARD (PDF), retrieved 27 January 2021

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