MMDA rushing road works for holidays

The Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) is rushing road repairs in major thoroughfares to minimize traffic buildups during the Christmas shopping rush.

Seven new steel pedestrian overpasses are also being built in a number of areas to keep traffic going. These are in Diliman Preparatory School, Batasan Road along Commonwealth Avenue and in Libis, all in Quezon City; EDSA Central Terminal and Shaw Boulevard in Pasig City; Pedro Gil — Quirino Avenue, and at the Quirino South Superhighway in Manila.

Corazon Bautista-Cruz, MMDA assistant general manager for development planning, said infrastructure projects under the agency’s so-called "Metro Gwapo" program are running at full throttle.

"Foremost of these projects is the concrete re-blocking along EDSA from the Balintawak Monument to Roxas Boulevard," she said, referring to concrete barriers put in place to guide vehicular traffic. Cruz emphasized that the MMDA is working overtime on weekends to avoid hampering traffic flow during ordinary days.

Cruz said half of the work on the improvement of Metro Manila’s main transport corridors covering the areas of Monumento to the MRT Kamuning Station, Main Avenue to Cubao, the Guadalupe Bridge in Makati City, and all the way to Roxas Boulevard in Pasay City, were completed.

Aside from concrete re-blocking, EDSA’s sidewalks are also being rehabilitated to make them pedestrian-friendly.

"These infrastructure projects are on the priority list of Chairman Bayani Fernando," she said. The MMDA’s Metro Gwapo project is aimed at improving vehicular traffic flow and pedestrian mobility.

Other infrastructure projects that are nearing completion, Cruz added, include improvement of secondary roads.

"The holiday season is just around the corner and we wouldn’t want our pedestrians and motorists to suffer the usual holiday traffic snarls," Cruz said.