KATIPUNAN, INCOMPLETE

Here’s an interesting bit of Quezon City road trivia.

Most people know Katipunan Ave as the major road that begins near White Plains Avenue, passes Santolan and Aurora, then continues past Ateneo, Miriam, UP Town, and UP Diliman.

But Katipunan was also intended to extend farther northeast.

QC’s land-use plan identifies a proposed Katipunan Ave. extension running northward from Pansol toward Payatas. The road was envisioned as an alternative route toward Batasan, particularly for areas with limited road access around Pansol and Matandang Balara.

The project had reportedly been on the drawing board for almost six decades before the DPWH announced in 2018 that it would finally proceed.

Its planned alignment would pass through or beside several privately owned properties and subdivisions, including Loyola Grand Villas (LGV), Capitol Homes, Vista Real and Filinvest Northview.

According to reports at the time, the project had been delayed by right-of-way problems and prolonged negotiations with private property owners.

Construction eventually moved forward. In Feb 2021, the DPWH reported that 3.4 kilometres of the extension project were already substantially under construction and that completed sections were expected to open within the year. But building the road did not automatically make the whole route continuously accessible to the public.

In March 2021, a QC councilor called for the Katipunan Extension to remain open after residents complained that the portion passing through LGV had been closed to outside motorists.

Then, in Oct 2023, the Manila Bulletin reported an even stranger problem: a newly constructed section of road stopped only around 20 meters short of the existing Katipunan Extension inside LGV.

The missing connection was reportedly blocked by a wall.

So kilometres of new road had been constructed, but motorists still could not use the route as one continuous public thoroughfare.

Whether it will ultimately become the fully connected public road originally envisioned remains unclear. If it does, it will be interesting to see how improved connectivity affects property values in nearby subdivisions such as Vista Real.