Daily Tribune
6 February 2025: An EDSA bus travels along the thoroughfare’s carousel on 6 February 2025. The government is considering removing the EDSA bus lane, citing its overlap with the MRT-3 and the potential to ease traffic congestion. MMDA Chair Romando Artes discussed the proposal with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. during a meeting on Metro Manila’s Comprehensive Traffic Management Plan (CTMP).
Analy Labor
The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) said Saturday it will close bus lanes during the rehabilitation of EDSA this month.
In a radio interview, DPWH National Capital Region Director Lorie Malaluan said they are already coordinating with the Department of Transportation (DOTr) and the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA).
"We are already having a meeting with the MMDA and DOTr. We are just fixing the traffic management, because we will start the rehabilitation of EDSA with the bus lane," Malaluan said.
"We will prioritize the bus lane. It will be closed as agreed upon with the MMDA. Work will be done 24/7, that's why we will close our bus lane," she added.
According to the DPWH official, buses will temporarily use other lanes on EDSA while the repairs on the bus lane are ongoing.
Malaluan added that the DOTr is already studying the DPWH's proposal to have shared bus lanes while rehabilitation efforts in EDSA are ongoing.
The rehabilitation will be done on one northbound and 15 southbound segments in EDSA to improve the road-riding surface, pavement durability, and the overall safety of the riding public.
Repairs at the northbound lane will be from Balintawak to Monumento, which would cost P300 million. Meanwhile, similar works at the southbound segments will start from Monumento to Roxas Boulevard, which would cost about P7 billion.
After the project is completed, there should be no more road reblocking for the next 10 or 15 years, according to the DPWH.
DPWH Secretary Manuel Bonoan previously said that the Philippine government would undertake major infrastructure projects this year, including the complete rehabilitation of EDSA.
Bonoan said improving the riding quality in EDSA is included in the priority projects of the Marcos administration.
"The President wants to improve the riding quality of Filipinos in EDSA. We will rehabilitate the entire EDSA starting 2025," Bonoan said in a Bagong Pilipinas interview earlier this year.
The DPWH chief said he expects the rehabilitation to be completed this year.
