The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) is reportedly planning to build an elevated highway over EDSA from Roxas Boulevard in Pasay City to Balintawak in Quezon City to address traffic congestion in the metropolis.
According to Sen. Franklin Drilon, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee that's deliberating the proposed P125-billion budget of the DPWH, the planned elevated highway is the "ultimate solution to the hell that we go through every time we pass by EDSA."
Drilon added that the DPWH is already starting its technical evaluation of the project, which has a length of roughly 22 kilometers and will have three lanes each for the north and south bound lanes.
DPWH secretary Rogelio Singson said his office is still evaluating on whether to build an elevated expressway, a tunnel or a Stormwater Management and Road Tunnel (SMART), which would specifically be used as a reservoir for floodwater.
"If this is just a road tunnel that we are looking at, definitely the elevated expressway is going to be more efficient. But if we want to use the tunnel as a SMART to bring in all the excess water that comes into Metro Manila, then we are trying to assess whether it is more efficient to do a joint smart tunnel or just an elevated expressway," Singson said.
The Japan International Cooperation Agency is reportedly considering to fund the project through official development assistance or through a partnership with the private sector.
"This will be started during the term of President Aquino. This will be sectionalized so that while the ambition is to finish this before six years, the reality is that we will be able to finish sections of this project," said Drilon.
