DPWH set to implement 5 major road projects in Metro Manila

By: Jerry E. Esplanada - 11 years ago

INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — Aside from the P3.74-billion major rehabilitation of the 23-kilometer Efipanio de los Santos Avenue, or Edsa, and the construction of the P3.03-billion Edsa-Taft Avenue flyover, five other Metro Manila road projects of the Department of Public Works and Highways are expected to test further the patience of motorists and commuters in Metro Manila when they finally get the go-ahead of Malacañang and the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA).

The infrastructure projects are worth at least P8.21 billion, according to a DPWH report, a copy of which was obtained by the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

The agency named the planned infrastructure projects as Phase 1 of the P1.7-billion Liwasang Bonifacio-Sta. Monica bridge and the P700-million Gov. Forbes-Espana Street underpass, both in Manila; P1.5-billion widening of the C-5-Bagong Ilog flyover in Pasig City; P793-million Sen. Gil Puyat Ave.-Makati Ave.-Pase de Roxas vehicle underpass in Makati City; and P481-million widening of Gen. Luis Street in Novaliches, Quezon City.

The department said that it “shall be consulting and securing the necessary approvals prior to project implementation of various agencies, including the Office of the President and the MMDA,” which has the final say in the issuance of permits to road projects in Metro Manila.

The DPWH noted that as early as last year, it had completed the Detailed Engineering Designs, or DEDs of the five projects, as well as the Edsa major rehabilitation and EDSA-Taft Ave. flyover projects.

The DEDs of at least two projects — Edsa rehabilitation and the Liwasang Bonifacio-Sta. Monica bridge – had been finished as early as April 2013. The rest were completed between May and December last year.

Last month, Reynaldo Tagudando, director of the DPWH office in the National Capital Region, said they would push for the much-delayed major rehabilitation of Edsa after the P230-million concrete reblocking of about 80,000 square meters of road space in the busiest thoroughfare in the metropolis.

He asserted that “asphalt overlay is the next best thing to the weekend concrete reblocking and piecemeal repairs on Edsa.”

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

Public Works and Highways Secretary Rogelio Singson earlier said that transforming Edsa into a road as “smooth” as the North Luzon and South Luzon Expressways could 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 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 asserted.

With a 2014 budget allocation of more than P130 billion, the DPWH also plans to rehabilitate the last 15,872 kilometers of gravel and unpaved arterial roads nationwide.

The amount is 67.7 percent of the agency’s total infrastructure program fund of P190.91 billion. The remaining P61.5 billion in capital outlays will go to major flood-control and other infrastructure projects in Metro Manila and the rest of the country.

This year’s budget for the rehabilitation of national roads and bridges is P28.48 billion more than last year’s, which amounted to P110.93 billion.

In another report, Singson disclosed that “asset preservation on national roads shall be done with priority on rehabilitation over preventive maintenance, as well as widening of critical intersections and junctions and paving of shoulders to improve road safety.”

“To ensure a longer life span of road pavements, there is a need to implement better drainage on primary roads,” he said.

Likewise, “climate change adaptation initiatives, such as slope protection works and road and bridges designed to cope with higher rainfall and rising sea levels, shall be prioritized.”

On national bridges, Singson said “public investments shall focus on major maintenance works and replacement of those that can can no longer be rehabilitated to improve their overall conditions, as well as the replacement of timber and bailey bridges with concrete or steel structures.”