HAVE you tried driving down EDSA lately? Preferably at night and during or after a heavy downpour?
I am particularly focused on the southbound lane between Ortigas Ave. and the Shaw Boulevard underpass, which I have traversed quite often lately, late in the evening, and yes, during or after a heavy downpour.
And I’ve realized one of the worst things you can do when driving southbound on EDSA is to stick to the leftmost, or passing, lane. Unless your car is built with treads like a tank has. Why? Because the leftmost lane has potholes that grow bigger by the day and soon can swallow up even the biggest Philippine Navy ship we have that is shipshape. Yup, there are potholes that can throw off a motorcyclist or damage the suspension (or more) of an inexpensive vehicle. This is why I was deeply concerned the other day when I hit one of the potholes and held my breath to see if my car would shatter into pieces.
Thankfully it didn’t, but I could hear that very distinct “clunk” that made me wince.
If, as they say, the devil is in the details, then I’d say the devil is in EDSA, lurking in the potholes waiting to see how many vehicles he could damage today.
‘With our over-traveled roads to progress full of potholes, I have this sinking feeling we are condemned to be a developing country forever.’
The mark, I insist, of how well a country is governed is how well its main thoroughfare is maintained. And EDSA is not that well maintained, given a multitude of cement and asphalt patchworks, many of which become potholes during the rainy season. By the measure of EDSA alone, there is not much to be proud of and a lot of work that needs to be done if we are to boast that we are at par with our neighbors, Thailand and Malaysia for example, if not Singapore.
But while EDSA got me worried, McKinley Road got me panicking.
McKinley Road, you see, is perhaps the most elitist stretch of concrete and asphalt that one can find in our country. Through it pass the richest of the rich on their way to their mansions in North and South Forbes or Dasmariñas Village, or to their condominiums in the high-end high rises that now dot Bonifacio Global City or BGC.
Other VIPs like ambassadors pass McKinley Road too, as do some legislators who have residences in the area.
Plus me.
For many years, I’d seen road repair crew work on McKinley Road in the evening, and voila! In the morning it’s an excellently paved road from end to end.
This time, it too is marked by potholes, especially on the lane going from EDSA towards BGC. As a motorist, you should try to stay away from the left or passing lane as it has potholes big enough to swallow the light tanks of the Philippine Army. Pity your Audi or BM or Lexus or Benz if it hits a pothole or two; then again you have more than one of these in your garage, yes?
If EDSA is rife with potholes, what else could we expect? But if even McKinley Road is rife with potholes that jar the ride of the county’s richest of the rich, what then?
With our over-traveled roads to progress full of potholes, I have this sinking feeling we are condemned to be a developing country forever.
