The Public Works Department announced a massive decongestion program worth P384 billion to restore EDSA’s traffic flow to normal level.
“In close coordination with national government agencies, local government units and the private sector, we are pushing for the swift completion of our flagship infrastructure projects that will provide lasting solution to gridlocks in the National Capital Region,” Public Works Secretary Mark Villar said.
Villar said the agency’s Right-of-Way Task Force for Flagship Projects were directed to intensify ROW acquisition efforts to ensure the timely completion of road and bridge projects in Mega Manila.
“In order to bring EDSA back to its original capacity, we need to take out about 200,000 vehicles,” Villar said earlier.
About 380,000 vehicles use EDSA, the biggest thoroughfare in Metro Manila, daily.
The government expects to complete major road and bridge projects this year such as the 2.6-kilometer NLEX Harbor Link, R-10 Exit Ramp which would reduce the travel time of 1 hour and 30 minutes from Port Area to NLEX towards the northern provinces of Luzon to 10 minutes.
It said the 3.2-km Mindanao Ave. Extension Segment 2C would reduce travel time between Quirino Highway and General Luis Road of the cities of Quezon, Valenzuela and Caloocan from 1 hour and 30 minutes to 20 minutes while the 18.30-km Metro Manila Skyway Stage 3 would cut the 2-hour travel from Buendia, Makati City to Balintawak, Quezon City to 15 to 20 minutes.
Other projects include the 6.94-km Laguna Lake Highway that would cut travel time from Taytay, Rizal to Bicutan from 1 hour to 30 minutes; the 3.3-km Fort Bonifacio-Nichols Road (Lawton Avenue) widening to accommodate more vehicles; and the Bonifacio Global City-Ortigas Center Link Road Project that would reduce to 12 minutes the travel time between BGC and the Ortigas central business district.
Villar said the department would begin civil works on several projects this year, including the 8.35-km NLEX Harbor Link Segment 8.2 that would cut the 45-minute travel time from Mindanao Avenue to Commonwealth Avenue in Quezon City to 10 minutes; and the Pasig River & Manggahan Floodway Bridges Construction Project that would include three bridges: North & South Harbor Bridge, Palanca-Villegas Bridge and the Eastbank-Westbank Bridge 2 crossing Manggahan Floodway.
The department said the public could expect the opening of the 8-km NLEX-SLEX Connector Road, the 680 meter Binondo-Intramuros Bridge connecting Intramuros and Binondo and the 506-meter Estrella-Pantaleon Bridge connecting Estrella, Makati City to Barangka Drive, Mandaluyong by 2021.
It said that by 2022, it would complete projects such as the NLEX Harbor Link Segment 8.2; the 2.39-km Section 1 Phase 1 of the 32-km Southeast Metro Manila Expressway C-6; the 2.02-km North and South Harbor Bridge connecting North and South Harbor; the 438-meter Palanca-Villegas Bridge connecting A. Villegas and Carlos Palanca Streets; and the 929-meter Eastbank-Westbank Bridge 2 connecting Eastbank Dike Road and Westbank Dike Road in Cainta, Rizal by 2023.
Data from the Japan International Cooperation Agency showed that the cost of traffic in Metro Manila reached P3.5 billion in 2017, higher than the estimated P2.4 billion based on the previous transport roadmap.
By 2035, the daily cost of traffic was expected to go down to P3 billion with the government’s infrastructure program. It said that with additional projects, the impact would be further reduced to P2.4 billion.