PBBM suspends EDSA rehab, gov’t needs more time

EDSA rehab works suspended indefinitely by President Marcos

President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, Jr., has announced the suspension of the EDSA rehabilitation project, explaining that more time is required to ensure better planning and execution of the program.

“We have identified new technologies that were not considered in the EDSA rehabilitation planning, so I instructed [Transportation Secretary] Vince Dizon and Manny Bonoan of the [Department of Public Works and Highways] to pause the rehabilitation,” said the President.

_{President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr.}

This means that planned efforts to mitigate traffic flow disruption along EDSA during the rehab works, such as the Odd/Even scheme and MC Lane, will also be suspended.

While the President refrained from setting a firm timeline for the EDSA rehab, he indicated that a month-long review of alternative approaches is needed. He further explained that, while he agrees EDSA needs repair, the project’s current cost-benefit ratio is unfavorable.

“There are just too many sacrifices. It’s too heavy [financial], the traffic’s worse, so let’s pause that for now,” the President added.

He stated that the government will attempt to devise a plan to shorten the repair duration to six months to a year, instead of the initially projected three years, as well as a better approach that would not cause too much inconvenience to the public.