MMDA to sue contractor over traffic jam

MANILA, Philippines - The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority is mulling filing charges against a contractor for causing traffic gridlocks along EDSA last Thursday when it resumed work on a project without coordinating with the MMDA, an official said yesterday.

C&F Construction resumed its drainage improvement work along EDSA-Cabrera without notifying the agency, MMDA general manager Thomas Orbos said.

The roadwork caused heavy traffic along EDSA’s southbound lane that reached up to Balintawak in Quezon City, he added.

“If we were informed that they will resume construction, we would have prepared a traffic management plan on the area and at least augment the number of enforcers there,” Orbos said in a statement.

The drainage improvement work is a project of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) that was granted a permit by the MMDA last year. It was suspended as part of the moratorium on all road repairs and diggings during the Christmas season.

Orbos said he already asked the DPWH to finish the project by Monday. He said motorists should expect heavy traffic in the area.

“As a temporary measure and to make it passable to motorists, we have put steel plates on the area. But this still causes the motorists to slow down, which results in traffic buildup,” Orbos said.

The MMDA has suspended all DPWH road reblocking projects in Metro Manila until further notice. 

It has also required all DPWH contractors to submit to the agency their schedule for completing their projects. Contractors that fail to comply with MMDA orders will incur penalties.