The Philippines plans to rehabilitate EDSA, its busiest highway, to alleviate chronic traffic congestion. The project, backed by JICA, aims to expand the road network and improve travel times.
The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) plans to rehabilitate the entire length of EDSA this year. Public Works and Highways Secretary Manuel Bonoan stated that the bumpy ride on EDSA makes it difficult to even text on a mobile phone. While a bumpy ride is an inconvenience, the real problem is the monstrous traffic congestion on the country's longest and busiest highway.
The traffic situation has worsened to the point where the Management Association of the Philippines declared a state of calamity in Metro Manila last year. According to the 2023 Traffic Index by TomTom Traffic, it takes 25 minutes and 30 seconds to travel 10 kilometers on EDSA during rush hour, resulting in over 117 hours lost per year. The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) estimates the gridlock costs the economy P1.7 trillion annually. EDSA, a 23.8-kilometer highway traversing six Metro Manila cities, was built to accommodate 300,000 vehicles per day but now handles an estimated 464,000 vehicles daily, increasing to 480,000 during the Christmas season. Numerous decongestion attempts have failed to significantly improve traffic flow. Last year, the Department of Transportation signed a three-year technical cooperation project agreement with JICA for the major rehabilitation of EDSA. This agreement aims to expand the road network by constructing more bypasses, diversion roads, expressways, flyovers, interchanges, and underpasses to provide EDSA users with faster and less congested routes. Several projects, including the 18-kilometer Metro Manila Skyway Stage 3 and the 7.7-kilometer NLEx-SLEx Connector Road, have been completed and are expected to improve traffic flow. The DPWH plans to carry out the EDSA rehabilitation 'once and for all'. However, the challenge lies in undertaking major repair work without exacerbating traffic congestion. Secretary Bonoan acknowledges that past delays in EDSA's rehabilitation were due to the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA)'s reluctance to take responsibility for the possible congestion created by the project. The MMDA, in collaboration with the DPWH and the Department of Transportation, must develop a precise plan to ensure that the upgrading efforts do not worsen EDSA's traffic woes
EDSA Traffic Congestion Rehabilitation JICA Philippines Transportation
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