After road reblocking, DPWH eyes major rehab of Edsa

By: Jerry E. Esplanada - 11 years ago

EDSA. FILE PHOTO

After the P230 million concrete reblocking of Edsa which is expected to be completed this Holy Week, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) plans to push for the implementation of the much-delayed P3.74 billion major rehabilitation of the 23-kilometer thoroughfare, the busiest in Metro Manila.

The planned major repairs on Edsa have been put on hold due to traffic-related issues raised by the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA). Other projects that have also been put on the back burner include the rehabilitation of the 39-year-old Magallanes Interchange, construction of the Edsa-Taft Avenue flyover and the restoration of Taft Avenue as a major thoroughfare, among others.

Reynaldo Tagudando, director of the DPWH office in the National Capital Region, has asserted that “asphalt overlay is the next best thing to the weekend concrete reblocking and piecemeal repairs on Edsa.”

“Our main goal is having all major roads asphalted and reach a road roughness index of between 1 and 2, where 1 is very good, 1.5 is okay while 3 is bad,” he told the Inquirer.

After the ongoing reblocking of Edsa, Tagudando said that “the road’s quality [was] expected to improve to a 6 or 7.” That is, on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the highest.

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

He pointed out that the highway’s deterioration over the decades showed that “our road standards have really gone down … We are settling for roads full of potholes.”

The DPWH head had also stressed the need to complete the improvements on Edsa, noting that the thoroughfare which was completed in 1954 (and previously named Highway 54) had practically been neglected by previous administrations.

“Only piecemeal repairs are being done there. Yet, we can equal that of both NLEx and SLEx,” he said.

As expected, Singson is “not pleased” about the delay in the implementation of the Edsa rehabilitation project, according to at least two top DPWH officials.

Bridges or flyovers on Edsa are also covered by the rehabilitation plan. The upgrade of the Magallanes Interchange in Makati City is included in the budget allocation.

Tagudando said that “as much as possible, we would like to start the repairs on the interchange this summer.”

“We intend to finish these in eight months. If not, then they would spill over to next year,” he added.

He explained that the project “should have started last February but our work schedule was moved to March. The project delay was supposedly due to traffic problems it would cause.”

The MMDA has the final say on the issuance of permits for government infrastructure projects in Metro Manila.

The DPWH-NCR has set aside a budget of “less than P150 million” for the repairs on the interchange.

Early this year, Tagudando warned that the cracks found by the agency exposed motorists to “extreme danger.”

“We have to do something soon because the structure is no longer reliable. We have been noticing concrete disintegration,” he said as he also appealed to the MMDA “not to delay the repairs since there won’t be total closure of the interchange.”

The DPWH-NCR chief said they planned to do the repairs “between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m. when there are fewer vehicles.” The agency last repaired cracks on the interchange in 2010.