The long-delayed rehabilitation of Epifanio de los Santos Avenue (EDSA) will begin on December 24, with the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) shortening the project timeline to eight months to reduce disruption to motorists.
DPWH Secretary Vince Dizon announced the revised plan during a joint press briefing with the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) on Wednesday, saying the agency will use the two-week holiday break to start major road works.
Under the updated schedule, the rehabilitation will be carried out in two phases and completed within eight months, significantly shorter than the original two-year plan. The first four months will cover the stretch from Roxas Boulevard to EDSA-Orense, while the remaining four months will focus on the rest of the highway.
The revised approach also cuts the project cost to P6 billion from the initial P17 billion estimate, translating to P11 billion in savings, according to the DPWH.
Instead of full reblocking and traditional asphalt overlay, the agency will reblock only selected sections and use stone mastic asphalt (SMA), which Dizon described as a more durable material that allows faster construction while improving road quality.
Phase 1 will start at 11 p.m. on December 24, 2025, with 24-hour construction works continuing until 5 a.m. on January 5, 2026. During this period, DPWH will undertake reblocking works and asphalt overlay of the EDSA Busway lanes in both northbound and southbound directions.
After the holiday break, construction will shift to nighttime schedules to ease traffic congestion. From January 5 to May 31, 2026, asphalt overlay works will be conducted from 10 p.m. to 4 a.m., lane by lane, on weekdays, while reblocking and overlay of one lane per direction will be done from Friday to Sunday during the same hours.
DPWH said affected portions of EDSA will be reopened to traffic by 5 a.m. the following day, in coordination with the MMDA.
Authorities said the revised schedule is expected to result in minimal traffic impact, particularly during daytime hours, compared with the original plan that would have caused lane-by-lane disruptions over two years.
The DPWH and MMDA said traffic management measures and advisories will be released ahead of the project’s implementation to guide motorists during the rehabilitation period.
