Metro Manila, Philippines – Transportation Secretary Vince Dizon on Friday, May 30, assured business and residents along Epifanio delos Santos Ave. (EDSA) of unhampered utility services during the main road’s one-year major rebuild.
Dizon said the rebuild will include wider sidewalks and upgrades on the drainage system.
“I don’t think there will be interruptions, if any, to power, water, or telecommunications,” the secretary told NewsWatch Plus anchor Menchu Macapagal in “Zoom In.”
Dizon said changes on EDSA will prioritize pedestrians to include wider walkways to accommodate people on wheelchairs and those with strollers.
“When we build roads, when we build facilities, we really have to put people first,” he said.
“The tendency of governments, of people in charge of infrastructure, were to put cars first. I think that was a mistake. I think a lot of countries have learned from that mistake,” he added.
Dizon said the construction would include replacing the “entire underground system” for drainage.
“That is part of the plan. And I think they’ve factored all of those in,” he said, referring to the Department of Public Works and Highways.
Dizon said the metropolis’ main highway will undergo a “total rebuild” beginning June that may take two years to complete.
The overhaul will be carried out per lane beginning on the EDSA busway.
