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Heavy traffic in Cubao, Quezon City on the southbound lane of EDSA on Sept. 3, 2019.
The STAR / Michael Varcas
MANILA, Philippines — The rehabilitation of EDSA will be put on hold to explore “better ways” of implementing it, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said Sunday, June 1.
Marcos said a one-month study period is needed to determine whether new technologies can be used to accelerate roadwork on the decades-old highway.
“Mayroon tayong nakita na mga bagong teknolohiya na hindi natin ginamit doon sa pagplano ng EDSA rehabilitation,” the president told reporters during a Department of Transportation (DOTr) event at the Kamuning station.
(We have seen new technologies that we did not use in the planning of the EDSA rehabilitation.)
“Pause muna doon sa ating rehabilitation. Huwag muna nating gawin dahil 'pag tinitingnan natin 'yung cost-benefit analysis, maganda sana kung maayos natin, ngunit ang laking sakripisyo nun. Dalawang taon, masyadong mabigat, mahigpit ang traffic,” he added.
(Let’s put the rehabilitation on pause for now. Let’s not proceed yet because when we look at the cost-benefit analysis, it would be good if we could fix it, but the sacrifice is too great. Two years, it’s too much, the traffic would be very heavy.)
The rehabilitation was initially scheduled to begin on June 13.
With the suspension of the project, Transportation Secretary Vince Dizon also announced that the proposed odd-even coding scheme meant to mitigate traffic along EDSA during construction will likewise be suspended.
The DOTr has yet to release an official statement on Marcos’ directive.
Previously, the agency said the rehabilitation, expected to last until 2027, would start with the Pasay City to Shaw Boulevard segment.
The now-suspended odd-even scheme was supposed to replace the current number coding system.
While officials said it would ease congestion during the project, critics warned that it could just shift traffic to other roads or push motorists to buy additional vehicles to circumvent the restrictions.
