Why the EDSA decongestion program failed

IN 2018, one of the bold promises of then-Public Works secretary Mark Villar was EDSA traffic would be a thing of the past with the EDSA Decongestion Program — a package of 25 projects consisting of 11 bridges (e.g. Estrella-Pantaleon, BGC-Ortigas, Binondo-Intramuros, among others) and 12 expressways (e.g. Skyway, Laguna Lake Highway, NLEx Harbor Link, among others.). The theory was that these new roads and bridges would shift 200,000 vehicles away from EDSA to alternate routes. Looking at the traffic in Metro Manila in recent days, the program has failed.

EDSA remains crowded with vehicles despite the completion of many of the components of the EDSA Decongestion Program. And traffic is expected to get far worse as economic activity returns to pre-pandemic levels and face-to-face classes resume. The strongest indicator of the failure of the EDSA Decongestion Program is that the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority, despite opposition from motorists and transportation planners, is contemplating a tightening of the number-coding rules for Metro Manila (a measure that will have only temporary effect and will be detrimental for all in the longer term — see my April 2, 2022 column on this topic).