The Duterte administration is implementing a massive decongestion program amounting to P384 billion to bring back EDSA to normal traffic flow, according to Public Works Secretary Mark Villar.
“In close coordination with national government agencies, local government units, and the private sector, we are pushing for the swift completion of our flagship infrastructure projects that will provide lasting solution to gridlocks in the National Capital Region (NCR),” Villar said in a statement.
Major road and bridges aimed for completion this year include NLEX Corp.’s 2.60-kilometer (km) NLEX Harbor Link, R-10 exit ramp; San Miguel Corp. connector project -Metro Manila Skyway Stage 3; the 3.3 km Fort Bonifacio-Nichols road (Lawton avenue); Laguna Lake highway; Mindanao avenue extension segment 2C; and the Bonifacio Global City-Ortigas Center project.
These six projects are expected to significantly reduce travel time in and around Metro Manila.
The NLEX Harbor Link R-10 targets to reduce to 10 minutes travel from Port Area to NLEX towards the northern provinces of Luzon which now takes one hour and 30 minutes.
The Mindanao avenue extension segment 2C will reduce travel time between Quirino highway and General Luis road in the cities of Quezon, Valenzuela and Caloocan from one hour and 30 minutes to 20 minutes.
The 18.30-km Metro Manila Skyway Stage 3 will cut the two-hour travel from Buendia, Makati City to Balintawak, Quezon City to 15 to 20 minutes; and the BGC-Ortigas center link road project will reduce to 12 minutes travel time between BGC and Ortigas central business district.
To bring back EDSA to its original capacity and speed, Villar said 200,000 cars have to be taken off this thoroughfare and diverted to the new expressways.
With this, vehicles passing through EDSA may experience an improvement in the speed from current 10 to 15 kilometer per hour (kph) to the ideal speed of 40 kph hopefully by end 2021
Based on the Department of Public Works and Highways’ (DPWH) projected schedule, the public may expect the opening of several road and bridges projects in the next three years.
By 2021, three projects will start operation: the 8 km NLEX-SLEX connector road; the 680-meter Binondo-Intramuros Bridge connecting Intramuros and Binondo, and the 506-meter Estrella-Pantaleon Bridge connecting Estrella, Makati City to Barangka drive in Mandaluyong.
The NLEX Harbor link segment 8.2; and the 2.39 km Section 1 Phase 1 of the 32-km Southeast Metro Manila Expressway or C-6 are scheduled to be operational by 2022.
The 2.02-km North & South Harbor Bridge connecting north and south harbor, the 438-meter Palanca-Villegas Bridge connecting A. Villegas and Carlos Palanca streets, and the 929-meter Eastbank-Westbank Bridge 2 connecting east bank dike road and west bank dike road in Cainta, Rizal will be operational by 2023.
More road spaces will be constructed to provide motorists alternative routes to the heavily-congested 23.8-km EDSA.
DPWH is set to begin civil works on the following projects this year: the 8.35-km NLEX Harbor Link Segment 8.2 that will cut the 45-minute travel time from Mindanao avenue to Commonwealth avenue in Quezon City to 10 minutes; he Pasig River & Manggahan floodway bridges project inclusive of three bridges namely: North & South Harbor Bridge, Palanca-Villegas Bridge; and the Eastbank-Westbank Bridge 2 crossing Manggahan Floodway.
