EDSA rehab pushes through amid Asean summit

MANILA, Philippines — The second phase of the EDSA rehabilitation project will push through amid the 49th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit, the Department of Public Works and Highways said.

DPWH Secretary Giovanni Lopez said the road reblocking and asphalt overlay are not seen to worsen traffic along EDSA because the dates fall under a long weekend, noting that Nov. 16 to 18 are declared as special non-working days in Metro Manila due to the ASEAN Summit.

Lopez said the road rehabilitation project would be conducted along EDSA’s southbound lane from Caloocan to Quezon City from 10 p.m. of Nov. 13 to 5 a.m. of Nov. 16.

He said the EDSA rehabilitation is in line with President Marcos’ directive for continuous operations to ensure speed in fixing roads.

The DPWH has urged motorists to find alternate routes while road reblocking activities continue.

Meanwhile, Department of Transportation Secretary Vince Dizon said yesterday that the DOTr would take over the operations of the EDSA busway next year.

After a site inspection at the Guadalupe Station, Dizon said the DOTr wants to ensure sufficient funding for the maintenance of busway facilities and prevent delays in repairs, noting that complaints on non-operational elevators and faulty lights along the overpass were filed by users.

“I said that next year, in 2027, the busway operations would run under DOTr. That’s what I will say to the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority,” Dizon told reporters in a chance interview.

“The maintenance of the footbridges will also be under DOTr so that we can ensure the budget because at times there is no budget,” Dizon said.

The EDSA busway has more than 20 stations from Monumento in Caloocan to the Parañaque Integrated Exchange.