Trucks banned from Edsa; road diggings suspended

The Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) has banned trucks with a gross weight of 4,500 kilograms and above from any portion of Edsa during the holidays.

MMDA Chair Francis Tolentino said the ban started yesterday and would be implemented until Jan. 6 next year.

The total truck ban on Edsa, from the Magallanes Interchange to Trinoma, is part of the holiday truck ban approved by the Special Traffic Committee (STC) of the Metro Manila Council last Dec. 3.

Violators of the holiday truck ban face a P500 fine, although the Metro Manila Council mulls raising it to P2,000.

Tolentino clarified yesterday that there were “no more window hours” for trucks plying Edsa during the holiday ban. Prior to the ban, the MMDA had allowed trucks to pass through Edsa from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m.

The holiday truck ban, covering trucks with a gross weight of 4,500 kilograms or more, will be observed from 6 to 10 a.m. and 5 to 10 p.m. daily, except holidays and Sundays, along metro roads.

The regular truck ban spans only from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. and from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. during weekdays.

But trucks carrying perishable goods will still be exempted from the truck ban, Tolentino said.

To decongest the foreseen heavy traffic during the holidays, the MMDA is also suspending road diggings in the metropolis from Dec. 10 until Jan. 4.

In a memorandum circular to all concerned offices of the MMDA, local government units, and utility companies, Tolentino ordered the halt on any diggings on any right-of-way roads, including sidewalks.

Violators of the holiday prohibition face a P3,000 to P10,000 fine, or a three-day to six-month imprisonment.

But the moratorium on road diggings does not apply to flagship government projects and emergency water leak repairs, Tolentino clarified.