Ejercito: Edsa rebuild will be ‘very chaotic’
Motorists pass through Edsa. — File photo
MANILA, Philippines — “Hindi ito magiging magulo, kundi sobrang gulo (It won’t just be chaotic, it will be very chaotic)!”
Senate local government committee chair JV Ejercito said this of the planned rebuilding of the Epifanio delos Santos Avenue (Edsa).
“With the current situation, with the volume of cars and motorcycles [that] will be banned on overpasses and underpasses, NCAP (no-contact apprehension policy) initial implementation, [these] are ingredients for a hellish situation in the metro,” Ejercito said in a statement Saturday.
The P8.7-billion project is set to begin on June 13 and seeks to replace a total of 200 kilometers of lanes with a more durable pavement. The rebuild will run until 2027.
READ: How will Edsa be rebuilt? Here are the details
‘Finish rail projects first’
Ejercito proposed that the Edsa rehabilitation project be done “once the North-South Commuter line and the Metro Manila subway system are operational.”
“In this way, [the] movement of people would be easier when the two railway lines are already operating, thus possibly reducing [the] volume of cars,” he added.
The North-South Commuter Railway will run from Clark, Pampanga to Calamba, Laguna. It is expected to start running partially in 2026 then fully in 2029.
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Meanwhile, the Metro Manila subway system will run through from Valenzuela City to Parañaque City and is expected to be partially operational by 2032.
READ: Due to delays, Metro Manila subway may be operational by 2032 – DoTR
For its part, in a press conference last Monday, the Department of Transportation (DOTr) said it will lift the toll on Skyway Stage 3 and add 100 units to the Edsa busway and more trains to the Metro Rail Transit Line 3 to mitigate the project’s impact on traffic.
The DOTr will also clear obstructions from alternate routes and implement an odd-even scheme in Edsa as additional interventions. /das
