Holiday gridlock

If the Marcos 2.0 administration wants to attract more investors, it can start with measures that are less complicated and divisive, and cheaper than amending the Constitution.

Studies pre-pandemic showed that simply untangling the traffic mess in Metro Manila can save billions annually in fuel and logistics expenses as well as in terms of improved productivity.

With COVID restrictions lifted, traffic mismanagement is back, along with the holiday carmageddon.

On my way to our new office in Parañaque from Ortigas last Tuesday, I got stuck for about 45 minutes along a short stretch of the C-5 Expressway Link running parallel to the NAIA complex. Not even motorcycles could move in the gridlock as the road, used heavily by delivery trucks, turned into a virtual parking lot.

The reason? Concrete was being poured along a portion of the eastbound lane, leaving only one lane open to traffic. A few local traffic enforcers directed alternating traffic flow – at intervals of probably about 15 minutes for each direction.

Naturally, that long wait to negotiate a brief road stretch resulted in a traffic jam that must have spilled over all the way to the South Luzon Expressway. The traffic enforcers, instead of shortening the intervals for alternating traffic flow, instead got busy apprehending motorists (mostly motorcycle riders) who drove counterflow.

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Last October, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) had announced several measures to ease traffic during the holidays.

Among these is the suspension of road construction activities in Metro Manila from Nov. 13 to Jan. 8, 2024. The activities include “road reblocking works, pipe-laying, road upgrading and other excavation works” that will cause traffic jams.

What happened to the C-5 Expressway Link project? The same MMDA statement exempted from the suspension “flagship projects of the government,” flood interceptor catchment projects as well as bridge repair and construction being undertaken by the Department of Public Works and Highways.

All over Metro Manila, I guess all ongoing public works projects fall under those classifications. So the MMDA suspension order is worthless PR.

When westbound