P3.7B Edsa rehab finally starts this summer

 INQUIRER PHOTO/LYN RILLON

MANILA, Philippines—Motorists can look forward to a smoother ride on EDSA later this year. The much-delayed P3.74-billion rehabilitation of the 23-kilometer Epifanio de los Santos Avenue, or Edsa, will finally start in the first quarter of the year, according to the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).

Public Works Secretary Rogelio Singson on Wednesday said the stretch of Edsa from Guadalupe to Gil Puyat Avenue (or Buendia) in Makati City would be the pilot area for the series of major road works, which was first announced two years ago.

The DPWH will be applying new technologies in pavement improvement, including the use of “special high-grade asphalt from Singapore,” which is considered more rigid, durable, highly resistant to cracks and other road deformations, and thus suitable for roads with high-traffic volume.

DPWH-National Capital Region Director Reynaldo Tagudando said it would be the first time the imported material would be used in a government road project in Metro Manila.

The scheduled asphalt overlay was the “next best thing to the concrete reblocking and piecemeal repairs on Edsa,” the country’s busiest thoroughfare, Tagudando said. “Unlike concrete, which takes a curing period of at least three days, the application of high-grade asphalt needs just 46 hours, then vehicles can already pass on the road.”

Tagudando said preparations were under way for the road project’s bidding and procurement process. “We hope to conduct the bidding by early (2015). The sooner, the better.”

The project’s detailed engineering design had been completed as early as April 2013, he noted. “We also have no problems with funds” and the department had secured the necessary approval from Malacañang and other concerned agencies to implement it.

Plans to rehabilitate Edsa were put on hold mainly due to concerns raised by the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA), which noted that the project would coincide with other major road repair works in the capital and induce widespread traffic jams. MMDA has the final say on the issuance of permits to government road projects in the metropolis.

Other projects that have also been put on the back burner include the construction of the Edsa-Taft flyover and other improvements on Taft Avenue.

As early as January 2013, Singson projected that transforming Edsa into a road as smooth as the North and South Luzon Expressways could be achieved within two years.

Under the original plan, the Edsa project was expected to be completed in February 2015. –Jerry Esplanada