Total overhaul of Edsa starts this year–DPWH
The much-delayed full overhaul of Edsa, one of the busiest thoroughfares in Metro Manila, will finally happen this year, along with other big-ticket projects, according to the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).
“Speaking about what we will start [this year], what the President wants is that we have to actually improve the riding quality of Edsa. We will rehabilitate the entire Edsa starting 2025,” Public Works Secretary Manuel Bonoan said on Wednesday on “Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon.”
Long put off to avoid worsening the already heavy traffic flow on the busy thoroughfare, the rehabilitation of Edsa must now be undertaken “once and for all,” the DPWH chief stressed.
“Because right now, if you pass through Edsa, you will have a hard time texting on your mobile phone because the ride is too bumpy,” Bonoan said.
He added that he expects the total overhaul of Edsa to be completed within the year as well.
No MMDA OK
The P3.74-billion “major rehabilitation” of Edsa was planned as early as 2015, but it did not materialize after the DPWH failed to get the approval of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA).
The MMDA had pointed out then that the project would cause widespread traffic congestion as there were other major road repair works ongoing at the time.
Bonoan said the DPWH would also embark this year on big-ticket bridge projects that may be completed by the end of the President’s term in 2028.
The DPWH has been given more than P1 trillion in funding for 2025, the biggest among government agencies.
Among the projects set this year is the 32-kilometer Bataan-Cavite Interlink Bridge, which will be financed through a loan with the Asian Development Bank (ADB), but Bonoan doubts that it can be completed before Mr. Marcos steps down.
Best effort
“We will try our best actually to significantly complete within the term of the President because we only have three years and this is going to be a big project. What we can be sure of is to be able to see pylons where you’re going to connect cable-stayed sections,” he said.
Other projects include the Panay-Guimaras-Negros Link bridge and the lakeshore expressway from Calamba in Laguna to Sucat in Parañaque, which will be financed through loans from the Korean Exim Bank and ADB, respectively, Bonoan said.
Based on an Inquirer report, the 13-km Panay-Guimaras bridge will start in the second half of 2025 and is scheduled for completion in 2028, while the 19.47-km Guimaras-Negros bridge is set to be completed in 2030.
The Laguna Lakeshore Expressway will involve the construction of a 47-km-long, six-lane dike that aims to provide a highway to speed up travel between the southern part of Metro Manila and Laguna.
As a dike with bridges, pumping stations and ancillary floodgates, it is also seen to mitigate flooding in the western coastal communities near Laguna Lake.
“All these projects are under official development assistance, so we are assured of the financing program on these bridges,” Bonoan said.
The government also intends to begin work on a fourth bridge connecting Cebu City and Mandaue City, he added.
