MANILA — The Department of Transportation (DOTr) on Monday said traffic management measures for the EDSA rebuild would include free toll in parts of Skyway Stage 3 and an odd-even scheme for private vehicles. 

The EDSA rebuild is set to start on June 13, while the toll in parts of Skyway Stage 3 will be waived by July or August when the construction goes "full blast", the DOTr said.

“Yung segment lang kung saan ide-detour yung mga sasakyan na hindi na sila kailangan dumaan ng EDSA, aakyat na lang sila sa SkyWay. Ifa-finalize natin yan in the coming weeks or months kasi hindi pa naman yan kailangang gawin now kasi magmo-mobilize pa lang naman ang DPWH,” said Transportation Secretary Vince Dizon.

The Skyway is the "best alternative" to EDSA, Dizon noted. 

Dizon told ANC earlier in the day that they were finding a way, through the Toll Regulatory Board, to give San Miguel Corp. "some reprieve" for the lost revenue from the free Skyway toll while the EDSA rehabilitation is underway.

Meanwhile, the odd-even scheme during the EDSA rebuild would exempt Transport Network Vehicle Services (TNVS).

EDSA rehab to start on Pasay to Shaw segment — DPWH

The odd-even scheme will have a one-week dry run starting June 16, and may proceed as follows:

• - Prohibited during Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays are plates ending in: 1, 3, 5, 7, 9
• - Prohibited during Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays are plates ending in: 0, 2, 4, 6, 8
• - Sundays: Free for all
• 
  
• “Pag pinag-combine yung odd-even scheme and toll-free sa SkyWay, ieexpect po natin na mababawasan by 25 percent yung volume ng traffic sa EDSA… Ineexpect po natin na mas bibilis po yung daloy ng traffic at hindi magkakaroon ng carmageddon sa EDSA at tataas po yung travel speed,” said Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chair Romando Artes.

In a Facebook post, the DOTr said the government was also planning to add 100 more buses to the EDSA busway and more trains to the MRT-3 to ease the burden on commuters during the EDSA rebuild.

Dizon noted, however, that a 30-second waiting time for buses will be strictly enforced.

“Ang importante dito, enforcement. Kailangan tuloy-tuloy. Hindi na pwede yung maghihintay na mapuno,” he said.

EDSA rehab to begin mid-June; DOTr eyes suspension of toll in parts of SkyWay

It is also thinking of alloting a shared lane for motorcycles and bike riders. Artes said the MMDA will first conduct consultations with stakeholders and the DOTr regarding this.

The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), in a joint press briefing with the DOTr, said it would begin preparatory works—or the mobilization of equipment, barriers, and others—for the EDSA rebuilding by June 13. Excavations will start after about two weeks. 

The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA), for its part, said trucks and buses will only be given the window hours of 10 p.m. to 5 a.m.

“So from 5am to 10pm, absolute po, bawal ang provincial buses, trucks and other big vehicles sa EDSA. Kasi with the adjustments po, mas kikipot yung mga lanes,” said Artes.

EDSA — which has a carrying capacity of 250,000 vehicles — is the capital region’s busiest highway with over 464,000 motorists plying the thoroughfare daily, according to 2024 data from the MMDA.