THE rehabilitation of the 23-kilometer-long Epifanio de los Santos Avenue (EDSA) will be completed in 2027, with preparatory works to start next month, the Department of Public Works and Highways said yesterday.
DPWH Secretary Manuel Bonoan said the actual rehabilitation will begin a week after the preparatory works have been completed.
“The preparatory works will begin on June 13. When I said preparatory works hindi muna tayo magbubungkal, ilalatag lang muna namin ang mga sections para siguro after a week dun na tayo mag uumpisa (The preparatory works will begin on June 13. When I said preparatory works, we will not yet start excavation, we will just lay down the sections and maybe after a week, we will begin the rehabilitation),” Bonoan said in a joint press conference with Transportation Secretary Vince Dizon and Metropolitan Manila Development Authority Chairperson Romando Artes at the MMDA main office in Pasig City.
“The concept of the EDSA rebuild is that we will change the pavement. Babaguhin natin ang pavement ng EDSA into a new pavement. In other words, bubungkalin natin ‘yung existing pavement sa EDSA, papalitan natin ng bagong pavement na matibay na pavement (The concept of the EDSA rebuild is we will change the pavement. We will change the pavement of EDSA into a new pavement. In other words, we will dig up the existing pavement of EDSA, we will put a new pavement, one that is sturdier,” Bonoan added.
Bonoan said priority will be the section from Pasay to Guadalupe in both north and southbound directions, considering the country’s hosting of the ASEAN Summit next year.
He said the DPWH will use the latest technology in concrete mixing.
At the same time, Bonoan said they will employ several contractors to expedite the rehabilitation works.
“To fast-track the rehabilitation works, we will be employing several contractors at once. Our timetable is that this will be completed by 2027,” he said.
At the same time, he said they would repair and upgrade the drainage structures in areas along EDSA that experience perennial flooding during the rainy season.
Dizon said the EDSA busway will be retained even while the rehabilitation works are ongoing.
Dizon also appealed for understanding from the public, as he acknowledged that the rehabilitation works will pose traffic problems.
“This will be difficult, there will be traffic problems but there are preparations done based on the President’s directive that while EDSA is being rebuilt, we are also doing something, and that is what I and Chairman Artes will do to alleviate the traffic problem,” he said.
Dizon said among these measures is making the toll at Skyway Stage 3 free of charge to motorists, the deployment of an additional 100 buses to be fielded on the EDSA busway, and additional train sets on MRT-3 to accommodate more passengers.
To further ease traffic congestion during the EDSA rehabilitation, Artes said the MMDA will also implement a round-the-clock “odd-even” scheme for six days a week.
Under the planned scheme, vehicles with plates ending in 1, 3, 5, 7, and 9 are banned on the thoroughfare on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, while those ending in 0, 2, 4, 6, and 8 will be prohibited on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays.
EDSA will be free for all types of vehicles on Sundays.
The scheme is planned to be implemented starting June 16, though it will undergo a week-long dry run to prepare motorists and the riding public.
The odd-even scheme is on top of the current unified vehicular volume reduction program, commonly known as the “number coding” scheme.
Artes said they are also eyeing to designate a motorcycle lane on EDSA, adding that motorcycles will be banned on overpasses and underpasses.
However, Artes said he and Dizon are still set to discuss this with stakeholders in the coming days.
The MMDA, Artes said, will also intensify clearing operations along alternate routes to clear them of traffic obstructions that motorists displaced by the EDSA rehabilitation can use.
Starting on June 16, Artes said trucks and provincial buses will only be given a window period from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. to use EDSA to prevent more traffic congestion.
