MMDA: No Edsa rehab without traffic plan

Expect traffic on Edsa to go from bad to worse when the DPWH begins rehabilitating the 23-km-long busy thoroughfare. The MMDA has said that it would not approve the project without first seeing a traffic management plan as well as alternate routes for motorists. RICHARD A. REYES

MANILA, Philippines–With the long-delayed rehabilitation of Edsa set to start in the first quarter of the year, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) said on Sunday that it was still waiting for a proper traffic management plan, including a list of alternate routes for motorists, before it could give the project the green light.

During the agency’s Sunday radio program, MMDA Assistant General Manager Emerson Carlos noted that the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) has yet to consult them about the implementation of the P3.74-billion infrastructure project.

“They have not yet presented their plan to the agency but we are hoping that they will be able to submit a traffic management plan and have a proper consultation with various stakeholders since many people will be affected [by] this project like motorists, operators of public utility vehicles and commuters,” Carlos said.

Any government road project in the metropolis has to be approved first by the MMDA.

Earlier this month, Public Works Secretary Rogelio Singson said that the stretch of Edsa from Guadalupe to Gil Puyat Avenue (Buendia) in Makati City would be the pilot area for the series of major road works under the rehabilitation project.

“We may think that this is just a small portion of Edsa but this is the most congested [area] since many motorists [take this] route especially during the rush hour to get to Makati,” Carlos explained.

He said that the overall impact on traffic of the repair of the 23-kilometer-long thoroughfare—one of the busiest in Metro Manila—should be taken into consideration as he stressed the importance of a traffic management plan.

“The construction of the Naia Expressway is still not finished and its effect [on] traffic [extends] to as far as Tramo Street in Pasay City [which] is connected to Edsa,” Carlos noted.

No objections but…

According to him, the MMDA has no objections to the project as long as a good traffic management plan is in place before its implementation.

The DPWH earlier announced that it would apply new technologies in pavement improvement for the Edsa rehabilitation project, including the use of a “special high-grade asphalt from Singapore” said to be more rigid and highly resistant to cracks and other road deformations.

DPWH National Capital Region Director Reynaldo Tagudando had said that the imported material was the “next best thing to the concrete reblocking and piecemeal repairs on Edsa.”

“Unlike concrete which takes a curing period of at least three days, the application of high-grade asphalt needs just 46 hours [before the road can be opened to traffic],” Tagudando added.

However, Emil Llavor of the MMDA Road Safety Unit said that despite the new technology, there were still other things the DPWH should take into consideration, including the proper elevation to the new street level of the manhole openings for sewer, electrical and phone lines.

“Since it is a big project, proper consultation with the agency is needed and they need to consider the suggestions that we have for it,” Llavor added.

The detailed engineering design for Edsa’s rehabilitation was completed in April 2013 with the DPWH able to secure the necessary funding and permits from Malacañang and other concerned agencies.

The project, however, was put on hold after the MMDA noted that it would coincide with other major road repair works in the capital and induce widespread traffic jams.

Under the original plan, the rehabilitation of Edsa was supposed to be completed in February 2015.