(UPDATE) REHABILITATION work on EDSA will be in full blast during the Holy Week, when fewer commuters and vehicles use the busiest road network in Metro Manila.
Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon said that the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) has approved his request for 24/7 work on EDSA.
At the same time, Dizon said he has ordered the clearing of all obstructions and repair of badly damaged parts of the Maharlika Highway to ease commuters’ burden in going home to their province for the observance of the Holy Week.
“For the Holy Week, all segments with problems, particularly those in Camarines Sur, part of Albay, and Samar, would be obstruction-free.
Traffic would be through and through, no more one way for faster travel time for millions of commuters who will be going to their provinces during the Holy Week rush,” added Dizon.
Dizon added that all obstructions and clearing works along the identified segments would be completed by the end of March, adding that patchworks would be done on badly damaged roads as a temporary measure to smooth them out for faster travel.
Also, the DPWH chief said the measure is temporary but will make travel faster, particularly between Catbalogan, Samar, and Tacloban City, where the agonizing 5 to 10 kilometers per hour crawl continues.
Dizon said that rehabilitation works for Phase 1 of the EDSA project, which covers Roxas Boulevard to Orense, Guadalupe, have 50 percent construction progress.
Phase 1 rehabilitation of EDSA, Dizon said, is in its advanced stage and could be completed ahead of schedule.
Also part of the ongoing rehabilitation, he added, is the expansion of sidewalks along EDSA to ensure pedestrians’ safety.
“We are in the advanced stage, and maybe by May, we can rehabilitate the sidewalks,” Dizon said.
Dizon said that by July 2026, Phase 1 of the rehab works, which includes sidewalks, will be completed, and sections without sidewalks are expected to be finished in May.
