Aquino postpones EDSA rehabilitation

President Benigno Aquino III has postponed the rehabilitation of EDSA, Metro Manila's main thoroughfare, pending further study on its impact on traffic, a report on GMA News' "24 Oras" said Wednesday. The report said Aquino made the decision after a meeting with officials from the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA), and the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG). The P3.7-billion rehabilitation project, which is expected to worsen the traffic on the 23-kilometer-long road, was supposed to start after the midterm elections in May. The project involves using high-grade performance asphalt that could last for 10 years. Despite the postponement, the management of the Metro Rail Transit (MRT), which courses through EDSA, is mapping out plans to accommodate the expected influx of passengers once the planned rehabilitation starts, the report said. — KBK, GMA News