Four more weeks to finish EDSA reblocking-DPWH

Metro Manila motorists will have to exercise their patience a little bit longer, specifically for four more weeks. The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) has announced that the reblocking or road repairs on sections of Epifanio de los Santos Avenue or EDSA will resume once approved by the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA). The MMDA has the final say in the issuance of permits to government road projects in the metropolis.

Already delayed by more than three months, the P230-million reblocking will take at least four more weekends to complete.

Reynaldo Tagudando, DPWH-NCR director, said Wednesday he was confident the repair of the remaining 3,000-plus square meters in parts of Quezon City and Mandaluyong City would be over before the end of summer.

“We’re finalizing the work plans for these areas, including sections of the highway in Cubao and Quezon Avenue (both in Quezon City),” he said.

Tagudando added that it would probably take at least four weekends to complete the reblocking.

The following sections of the highway were supposed to undergo repairs last weekend: the southbound lanes between Connecticut and Libertad streets and the northbound lanes between Temple Drive and United Street in Mandaluyong, and the northbound lane between Quezon Avenue and  Landmark department store in Quezon City.

Road repairs were postponed because of the May 3 evangelical mission of the Iglesia ni Cristo at the Mall of Asia in Pasay City and a weekend sale at SM Megamall in Mandaluyong.

Had the MMDA approved the DPWH’s proposed work schedules of up to 10 road sections per weekend, the department would have completed the reblocking project last December.

Instead, private contractors hired by the DPWH are allowed to work on only four to five locations along Edsa every weekend. The project, which started in early 2013, is part of the DPWH’s routine maintenance of the 23-kilometer highway, the country’s busiest thoroughfare.

Earlier, Public Works Secretary Rogelio Singson said that transforming Edsa into a road as “smooth” as the North Luzon and South Luzon expressways was a concrete reality that can be achieved in one or two years.

With report by Jerry E. Esplanada