EDSA rehab: Gov't aims for six-month completion

The decades-long wait for the rehabilitation of Metro Manila's main thoroughfare will take even longer as the government prepares to overhaul its plans on the project after President Marcos ordered the EDSA Rebuild program to be cut to just six months.

- BY DEXTER BARRO II

The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), Department of Transportation (DOTr), and Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA)—the agencies in charge of the rebuild project—disclosed last month the government's P8.7-billion plan to improve EDSA.

The project, which aims to transform EDSA into a commuter pedestrian-friendly highway, is expected to take between 1.5 and 2 years.

On Sunday, June 1, Marcos announced the postponement of the project for one month to accommodate a new construction plan. Preparatory work was scheduled for June 13.

This plan, he said, is focused on shortening the timeline to just six months to a year, aiming to reduce the inconvenience and heavy traffic expected from the project.

In a press briefing on Monday, Transportation Secretary Vince Dizon stated that this is a "clear message" from the President, acknowledging the challenges the project will bring to residents of the capital region.

"So what the President has said is 'let's go back to the drawing board,' let's find a better way that is shorter and, obviously, if it's shorter it will be cheaper," said Dizon.

The secretary floated that Marcos had spoken to specific groups that told him of "nonconventional ways" of expediting the project.

The country's top leader was quoted as saying that the government has seen "new technologies" that were not used in the planning of the EDSA rebuild.

Dizon did not divulge what these new methods are, but noted that "there are better ways." He said the new plan will shift from the "conventional method" of repairing the highway lane by lane, which will require a longer time.