Julia Vargas Avenue

Julia Vargas Avenue
Doña Julia Vargas Avenue
	Intersection of Julia Vargas Avenue, ADB Avenue, and San Miguel Avenue
Namesake	Doña Julia Vargas de Ortigas
Length	2.3 km (1.4 mi)
West end	AH 26 (N1) (Epifanio de los Santos Avenue) in Mandaluyong
Major; junctions	ADB Avenue / San Miguel Avenue; Meralco Avenue
East end	N11 (Eulogio Rodriguez Jr. Avenue) in Pasig

Julia Vargas Avenue is a central east–west arterial road that passes through Ortigas Center in Metro Manila, Philippines. It is a four-lane divided road with one-way protected bike lanes that run parallel to Ortigas Avenue to the north and Shaw Boulevard to the south. The avenue stretches 2.3 kilometers (1.4 mi) from Eulogio Rodriguez Jr. Avenue (C-5 Road) in Ugong, Pasig in the east to Epifanio de los Santos Avenue (EDSA) in Wack-Wack Greenhills, Mandaluyong in the west.

It was named for philanthropist Doña Julia Vargas de Ortigas, wife of Ortigas & Company Limited Partnership founder Don Francisco Ortigas y Barcinas, who owned the Hacienda de Mandaloyon estate on which Ortigas Center was built.^[1]^[2]

Route description

Afternoon traffic along Julia Vargas Avenue

The Julia Vargas Elevated Plaza above the intersection of Julia Vargas and F. Ortigas Road

People walking along the Ortigas Walkways above Julia Vargas Avenue

The intersection of Julia Vargas Avenue and F. Ortigas Jr. Road (Emerald Avenue) in 2013, before the construction of the elevated plaza

Julia Vargas Avenue originates at an intersection with C-5 Road, also known as E. Rodriguez, Jr. Avenue, where SM Center Pasig is located. It heads west across Valle Verde. Between the next intersection at Lanuza Avenue and City Golf, Vargas is the boundary between Valle Verde 3 and 4 villages. It passes the Ortigas Home Depot, a Sitel call center building, and a row of bars on the northern side before it comes to an intersection with Meralco Avenue and the Meralco flyover.

West of Meralco Avenue, the avenue officially enters the Ortigas Center business district. It passes the office towers in San Antonio, Pasig, toward the border with Barangay Wack-Wack Greenhills, Mandaluyong, at the intersection with ADB Avenue and San Miguel Avenue, where the El Pueblo Real de Manila strip mall is located. This span of Julia Vargas Avenue onwards used to contain one-way unprotected bike lanes, which have since faded.

The Ortigas Walkways Project, a series of elevated pedestrian walkways, covers the span of Julia Vargas Avenue within San Antonio.^[3]

From ADB and San Miguel to Bank and St. Francis, Vargas is one-way westbound only. The left side of the road only allows left turns to St. Francis Street, while the right side continues as a service road and allows right turns to Bank Drive. At the western edge of Ortigas Center are St. Francis Square Mall, San Miguel Corporation Headquarters, and SM Megamall. The avenue ends at EDSA as a two-way carriageway.

Development

Carpool lanes

The road was previously a six-lane divided avenue with no bike lanes until 2018 when an experimental road diet was implemented. This diet changed the corridor into a widened four-lane (two lanes per direction) divided avenue with one-way bike lanes with bollards. In each direction, one lane acted as a carpool lane for at least four passengers per vehicle, while the other was designated as a non-carpool lane.^[4]

This traffic scheme has since been rescinded due to motorist confusion. Despite this, the lane markings remain, and vehicle traffic during rush hours largely ignores them, informally reverting the avenue to its six-lane (three lanes per direction) state.

Motorcycle and bike lanes

In March 2021, Pasig Mayor Vico Sotto announced that the avenue would undergo another road diet, shrinking the two car lanes and adding a motorcycle lane parallel to the bike lane. The bike lane will also be physically separated by plant boxes.^[5]

Intersections

Province	Destinations	Notes
Pasig City	N11 (E. Rodriguez Jr. Avenue)	Traffic light intersection.
	Frontera Drive / Kaimito Street	Frontera Drive is part of Ortigas East (formerly Tiendesitas). Kaimito Street provides access for Valle Verde 2.
	Valle Verde 5 Celery gate^{[a 1]}	Westbound access only. Access for Valle Verde 5.
	Valle Verde 2 Sampaguita gate^{[a 2]}	Access for Valle Verde 2.
	Lanuza Avenue
	Coconut Street	Access for Valle Verde 4.
	Molave Street	Access for Valle Verde 3.
	Meralco Avenue	Traffic light intersection. Meralco Avenue goes over the road via flyover.
	Sapphire Road	Eastern terminus of the Ortigas Walkways Project.
	Grant Road
	Emerald Avenue	Traffic light intersection. Elevated plaza segment of Ortigas Walkways Project.
	Ruby Road
Pasig–Mandaluyong boundary	ADB Avenue / San Miguel Avenue	Traffic light intersection. Road becomes one-way towards EDSA. Western terminus of the Ortigas Walkways Project.
Mandaluyong	Bank Drive / St. Francis Street	Road becomes two-way again and acts as a service road for SM Megamall.
Mandaluyong	AH 26 (N1)	Western terminus.
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi Closed/former Concurrency terminus Incomplete access Route transition

Landmarks

IBP Building

Antel Global Corporate Center
Integrated Bar of the Philippines
Metrobank Ortigas Center
The Centerpoint Ortigas
The Currency Ortigas
City Golf
El Pueblo Real de Manila
One Corporate Center
CW Home Depot
New Metropolitan Manila Development Authority Head Office
San Miguel Corporation Headquarters
St. Francis Square Mall
Sitel
SM Center Pasig
SM Megamall
The Podium

Notes

^ Name is conjectural.
^ Name is conjectural.

References

^ About OCLP published by Ortigas & Company Limited Partnership; accessed October 15, 2013.
^ Tableau: encyclopedia of distinguished personalities in the Philippines Archived October 15, 2013, at the Wayback Machine published by Ortigas Foundation Library; accessed October 15, 2013.
^ Medina, Rachelle (August 16, 2019). "Ortigas Center Has Become a Walkable District, and We Didn't Even Notice It". SPOT.PH. Retrieved August 31, 2021.
^ "'Apat Dapat': Parts of Julia Vargas Ave. in Pasig declared as carpool lanes". GMA News Online. Retrieved August 31, 2021.
^ "J. Vargas Ave. in Pasig to have a dedicated motorcycle, bike lane - Auto News". AutoIndustriya.com. March 19, 2021. Retrieved August 31, 2021.
^ "Road and Bridge Inventory". www.dpwh.gov.ph. Retrieved July 31, 2020.

14°35′3″N 121°4′3″E / 14.58417°N 121.06750°E / 14.58417; 121.06750

[CeleryGate-7] Name is conjectural.

[SampaguitaGate-8] Name is conjectural.

[1] About OCLP published by Ortigas & Company Limited Partnership; accessed October 15, 2013.

[2] Tableau: encyclopedia of distinguished personalities in the Philippines Archived October 15, 2013, at the Wayback Machine published by Ortigas Foundation Library; accessed October 15, 2013.

[3] Medina, Rachelle (August 16, 2019). "Ortigas Center Has Become a Walkable District, and We Didn't Even Notice It". SPOT.PH. Retrieved August 31, 2021.

[4] "'Apat Dapat': Parts of Julia Vargas Ave. in Pasig declared as carpool lanes". GMA News Online. Retrieved August 31, 2021.

[5] "J. Vargas Ave. in Pasig to have a dedicated motorcycle, bike lane - Auto News". AutoIndustriya.com. March 19, 2021. Retrieved August 31, 2021.

[dashboard-6] "Road and Bridge Inventory". www.dpwh.gov.ph. Retrieved July 31, 2020.

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