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Chairman Bayani Fernando of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) yesterday said traffic along Edsa and in six other major roads in Metro Manila is expected to dramatically improve with the implementation of several new traffic engineering projects this year.

He said the MMDA is set to resume shortly the construction of a footbridge in Eastwood, Libis in Quezon City where a spate of vehicular accidents involving pedestrians has been recorded for several years now due to hordes of pedestrians spilling over the streets, and dangerously moving across the other side oblivious to oncoming and speeding vehicles.

The MMDA has started the building of the proposed footbridge but was held in abeyance following a temporary restraining order (TRO) issued by the court in favor of a nearby Citibank branch which had protested the construction of the same. Citibank complained that initial diggings undertaken by the MMDA to install the steel girders of the walkway had damaged some of its underground utility lines.

Reports reaching the office of the MMDA chief said Citibank has requested the court to lift its TRO on the case so that the MMDA can resume the construction of the footbridge

At the Kalayaan and C-5 area in Makati City, work on the construction of an elevated U-Turn slot is expected to start next month, according to Fernando. “Expropriation of some houses to be hit by the project has been done while some residents who have been afforded prior relocation assistance have nowhere to go but go back to their resettlement sites,” he said.

He said more footbridges will be built on Edsa cor. Roxas Blvd during the first quarter of the year to ensure an unimpeded flow of vehicular and pedestrian traffic. Similar walkways are also set to be installed on Harrison St. and Taft Avenue, all in Edsa.

More bus stops and control stations will be installed in strategic points of Commonwealth Ave.to ensure a faster and more convenient drive for motorists while road improvements will be undertaken at the University of the Philippines in Diliman that would connect it to Commonwealth Ave.

Fernando said travel speed along Edsa has sharply improved from 31.88 kilometers per hour in previous years to the present 23 kms. Per hour.

“Traffic on Edsa will further improve as soon as we implement mid this year the Enhanced Organized Bus Route system that will control passenger bus flow”, he said.

The MMDA has targeted the tagging of 2,517 bus units plying Edsa with micro-chips. At least 500 buses have already been equipped with Radio Frequency Identification technology or micro-chips that would allow the MMDA to regulate the dispatch of PUVs on Edsa based on passenger demand using the system linked to the MMDA Metrobase.

MMDA Source 

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