EDSA Rehabilitation Will Now Last 8 Months—Here's What You Need to Know

(SPOT.ph) The long-awaited—and widely feared—EDSA rehabilitation is back on track. After months of delays, shifting timelines, and mounting commuter anxiety, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) has confirmed that major repair works along Metro Manila’s busiest highway will finally begin on Christmas Eve.

Construction will begin at 11:00 p.m. on December 24, taking advantage of lighter holiday traffic. From then until the early hours of January 5, 2026, work along EDSA will run 24/7. DPWH said this holiday window is meant to finish the most disruptive parts of the project in one go, before offices and schools return to normal operations.

"As Chairman Don said, not many people will use EDSA during this time. Even passengers on the busway—they are not that many. So we will take advantage of that," DPWH Secretary Vince Dizon said during a press conference on December 17.

The DPWH is targeting completion in eight months, a process that officials claim will be faster, cheaper, and less disruptive than earlier proposals. The goal is to keep EDSA passable during the day while steadily moving the project forward at night.

The rehabilitation is divided into two phases. The first four months will focus on the stretch from Roxas Boulevard to the EDSA–Orense area in Makati City. The remaining sections of EDSA will follow in the second half of the project.

During the holiday construction period, DPWH will carry out full reblocking works and asphalt overlay on the EDSA Busway lanes, affecting both northbound and southbound directions. From January 5 to May 31, 2026, construction will move to nightly schedules, with coordination from the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA). DPWH said lanes affected by overnight work should be reopened by around 5:00 a.m. the following morning.

Weekday works will generally involve lane-by-lane asphalt overlay, while Friday to Sunday nights will see reblocking and asphalt overlay of one lane per direction. Again, this applies to both northbound and southbound lanes.

As for the exact lane closures and alternate routes, DPWH and MMDA have yet to release them.

Also read: From Monumento to PITX: Your Ultimate Guide to the EDSA Carousel

Earlier plans had pegged the EDSA rehabilitation work to start as early as June. Decades of exposure to heavy vehicles and insufficient maintenance have left the 23.8-kilometer stretch with cracks, potholes, and uneven surfaces. Thus, the rehabilitation project will cover the entire length of EDSA—a daunting task that was initially expected to take over two years.

That early rollout quickly became muddled. In the months leading up to the proposed start, officials floated a series of traffic measures meant to soften the blow—waiving toll fees along Skyway, adding more buses to the EDSA Carousel, and other temporary fixes that changed almost as quickly as they were announced. It left commuters with more questions than clarity.

This timeline was eventually shelved after President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. ordered a review, prompting DPWH to rethink both the scope and execution of the project.

The revised plan now comes with a P6 billion price tag, which is lower than previous estimates, after DPWH decided against fully reblocking the entire highway. Instead, the agency will use stone mastic asphalt, a material it said is more durable and allows faster construction without tearing up the entire road.

Also read: Skyway Toll Fees Will Be Waived During EDSA Rehabilitation