DPWH closing EDSA bus lane for retrofit
After the project is completed, there should be no more road reblocking for the next 10 to 15 years, according to the DPWH.
Lifelines Buses wait in the steady rhythm of EDSA-Ortigas following the announcement of the temporary closure for repairs of the EDSA Busway, where many motorists not authorized to use the lane had been ticketed, the latest said to be the driver of a police vehicle bearing chief PNP Rommel Marbil.
Photograph by Yummie Dingding for the daily tribune @tribunephl_yumi
The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) said Saturday it will close EDSA bus lanes during the rehabilitation of EDSA this month.
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 overall safety of the riding public.
Repairs on the northbound lane will be from Balintawak to Monumento, which will cost P300 million. Meanwhile, similar work on the southbound segments will start from Monumento to Roxas Boulevard, costing about P7 billion.
After the project is completed, there should be no more road reblocking for the next 10 to 15 years, according to the DPWH.
DPWH Secretary Manuel Bonoan previously said 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 among 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 in 2025,” Bonoan said in a Bagong Pilipinas interview earlier this year.
The DPWH chief said he expects the rehabilitation to be completed this year.