Motorists confirmed the remaining lanes stayed open all weekend, in the sense that they were physically there.
MAKATI, Philippines (ManilaNews.PH) – Motorists on southbound EDSA emerged Monday from a three-day lane closure between Quezon City and Guadalupe to find that the road had been successfully reblocked, the lanes had been successfully reopened, and the next closure had already been successfully announced, completing what highway officials proudly call one full revolution of the EDSA rehabilitation cycle.
The Department of Public Works and Highways had announced the closure of southbound lanes from the NEPA Q-Mart bus station to Guadalupe from Friday night until Monday morning for reblocking under Phase 2 of the rehabilitation, assuring the public that the remaining lanes would stay open. A separate traffic advisory confirmed the works would push through across the long Undas weekend, a scheduling choice one DPWH planner defended on the grounds that “traffic was going to be terrible anyway, so we were not really adding, we were participating.”
The work came two weeks after Phase 2 officially began with round-the-clock reblocking on stretches between Monumento and Balintawak, a schedule of breaking and hauling on Friday, concrete pouring on Saturday, and cutting, sealing and curing on Sunday, with lanes reopened by 5 a.m. Monday. ManilaNews.PH followed this weekend’s cycle from start to finish. What follows is the log.
A Long Weekend, Logged Hour by Hour
Friday Night: Breaking Ground and Spirits
At 10 p.m., crews arrived at the Guadalupe end with jackhammers, a backhoe, two water trucks and a laminated sign that read “SORRY FOR THE INCONVENIENCE,” which a project engineer confirmed is the same sign the agency has used since the first EDSA reblocking in living memory. “It has become a kind of heritage object,” said Engr. Lourdes Pamintuan-Ybanez, a corridor project engineer. “We have been asked by a museum to loan it. We said no. We still need it for next weekend.”
By 11:30 p.m., the first southbound lane had been broken into pieces small enough to be hauled away and large enough to be photographed by every motorist who passed. A study of 400 commuters conducted at the Guadalupe footbridge by the Metro Commuter Patience Index found that 71 percent took a photo of the closure, 64 percent posted it with the caption “EDSA na naman,” and 9 percent posted it with the caption “Happy Undas,” which the index has flagged for further review.
Saturday: The Concrete Pour
Saturday was devoted to base preparation, steel bar installation and the pouring of concrete, a process Pamintuan-Ybanez described as the heart of the operation. “The concrete is the most important part,” she said. “Second most important is the cones. Third is the press release. We do them in reverse order so the public is informed.”
Around midday, a steady stream of pedestrians began walking along the closure carrying iced coffee, sidestepping barriers and leaping over curing compound with the confidence of people who have trained for this their entire lives. The scene recalled the rodeo where organizers added a calf chase performed while carrying coffee, only for the real ranchers to sweep the medals. On EDSA, the real ranchers are office workers in lanyards, and not one of them spilled.
Sunday: Curing, Sealing and Waiting
On Sunday, crews cut the new slabs, applied sealant and let the concrete cure. Curing, the DPWH explained, requires the concrete to be left undisturbed for several hours, making it the only object on EDSA that is officially allowed to do nothing. Motorists stuck in the adjacent lanes said they related to it deeply.
A notice taped to a barrier near the Guadalupe bridge summarized the department’s position:
TRAFFIC ADVISORY. Reblocking works are ongoing. Motorists are advised to take alternate routes. Alternate routes are advised to take alternate routes. The remaining lanes will remain open. “Open” refers to the physical condition of the lane and makes no representation regarding movement within it. Reblocking is not excavation and is therefore not covered by any moratorium on excavation; it is the removal of road from where road used to be. For inquiries, please wait. – DPWH Field Office, Southbound Desk
That last clarification addressed a question several motorists had raised, since the works overlapped with the MMDA’s pause on road diggings for the holidays and the ASEAN Summit. Pamintuan-Ybanez said the department had reviewed the overlap carefully. “The moratorium covers digging holes,” she said. “We are not digging holes. We are digging slabs. A slab is a very flat hole.”
Monday, 5 a.m.: Reopening
At 4:58 a.m., two minutes ahead of schedule, crews lifted the last cones and the lanes reopened. The first vehicle through was a city bus, followed by a motorcycle, followed by a sedan whose driver stopped in the fresh lane to take a selfie with the smooth concrete. The queue behind him was measured by MMDA spotters at 1.8 kilometers. “He was very happy,” one spotter said. “We understand. It is the first time in years anyone has seen EDSA without a crack. It is like seeing a celebrity without makeup.”
Phase Two of How Many
The rehabilitation began late last year on an aggressive timeline. In February, DPWH Secretary Vince Dizon said the first stretch of the EDSA overhaul was on track for completion by July, under a compressed eight-month schedule rather than the original two years. Planners now describe that achievement as proof the method works, and the remaining phases as proof the method keeps working.
Comedians, who rely on EDSA for roughly a third of their material, have welcomed the arrangement. Paeng Soriano, who does a Friday set at a bar near Guadalupe, said the department had kept its promise to the letter. “They said the remaining lanes would stay open. They did. Nobody said the cars inside them would be allowed to move. Read the advisory, people.”
Fellow comic Noemi “Mimi” Arceo said the closures had changed her personal life. “My Grab driver and I have spent more time together on EDSA this year than I have spent with my husband,” she said. “Last weekend we discussed a prenup. He wants the aircon.”
A timelapse of the entire weekend, shot from a condominium balcony overlooking the Guadalupe stretch and posted on Bohiney.com, compresses 55 hours of work into 90 seconds. Viewers have noted that the traffic moves noticeably faster in the timelapse than it did in real life, prompting several to ask whether the department could simply play it on a screen at the bridge instead.
By 5:06 a.m. Monday, the DPWH had posted next weekend’s lane closure advisory. Officials stressed that it, too, was temporary, and that the cones had been informed.
SOURCE: https://bohiney.com/