THE Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) on Wednesday said it would rehabilitate the entire stretch of the Epifanio de los Santos Avenue (EDSA) this year “to improve the riding quality” of the country’s busiest thoroughfare.
During an interview on PTV’s “Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon,” Public Works Secretary Manuel Bonoan said improving the riding quality on EDSA was among the priority projects of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
“What the President wants is that we have to actually improve the riding quality of EDSA. We will rehabilitate the entire EDSA starting 2025,” Bonoan said.
“Because right now, when you pass through EDSA, sometimes you find it difficult to text when the car is bouncing. So, I think it’s about time that we need to rehabilitate EDSA once and for all,” he added.
The DPWH chief did not give further details but said he expected the rehabilitation to be completed this year.
The rehabilitation project aims to address long-standing issues with the highway and enhance the overall commuting experience for millions of Filipinos.
EDSA is one of the busiest thoroughfares in Metro Manila, widely known for its traffic congestion.
The Management Association of the Philippines (MAP) last year urged the government to declare a state of calamity in Metro Manila due to the worsening traffic situation in the nation’s capital region.
It is also pushing for the gradual conversion of public buses along the EDSA Busway to electric vehicles.
“This traffic congestion in Metro Manila has been so severe that an estimated P3.5 billion daily economic loss is being incurred continuously, and therefore more than merits a declaration of a state of calamity in Metro Manila by the President who may avail of emergency powers to provide relief measures,” Eduardo Yap, MAP transportation and infrastructure committee chairman, said in an earlier statement.
He said a calamity with an estimated damage of P1 billion qualified for the declaration of a state of calamity accompanied by the release of emergency state relief measures.
To effectively address the traffic congestion problem, Yap also said that a comprehensive plan would be needed.
“Current efforts at building big-ticket transportation infrastructure and certain traffic measures will contribute to traffic decongestion, but all these disparate measures must be under a comprehensive plan, such as MAP’s Holistic Plan, to effectively address this multi-decadelong traffic congestion problem, which is worsening by the year,” he added.
The trade group had earlier said the government must appoint a traffic czar to address traffic woes in Metro Manila — a proposal that the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority has shunned.
A study by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) revealed that traffic congestion in Metro Manila alone is costing the Philippine economy at least P3.5 billion per day or P1.27 trillion annually.
Other major projects
Aside from EDSA’s rehabilitation, Bonoan also outlined other major infrastructure initiatives that were expected to be finished in 2025.
Among these was a game-changing bridge in Zamboanga Sibugay that would connect the Zamboanga Peninsula to Olutanga Island.
Bonoan said this project was expected to improve accessibility and boost economic activity in the region.
Two other bridges were currently under construction in Sulu, he added.
The DPWH chief also said that another project expected to be completed this year was the Central Luzon Expressway, which would connect Tarlac to Cabanatuan, Nueva Ecija.
“This is, I think, about 30 or 40 kilometers of expressway along that corridor so that the one from Tarlac going to Nueva Ecija will not be detoured. This is the expressway. So that will also end this year,” he said.
These initiatives form part of the administration’s broader efforts to invest in infrastructure, Bonoan said.
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