Wheelchair lift, EDSA Busway PWD ramp improvements at no cost to gov’t -MMDA

The additional wheelchair lift and other civil works improvements at the viral EDSA Busway PhilAm station ramp for persons with disabilities (PWDs) - which was deemed too steep for wheelchair users - will be implemented at no cost to the government, according to the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA).

At the Saturday News Forum, MMDA Chairman Romando Artes reiterated that there were height and space limitations due to the Metro Rail Transit  Line 3 (MRT-3) which prevented the constructed elevator from being aligned with the existing footbridge, therefore the ramp connecting the two structures was too steep.

“But we already came up with solutions… one is the vertical lift which will become a direct access from the footbridge to the platform of the Busway,” Artes said in a mix of Filipino and English.

“Once [the vertical lift] was installed, we will improve the ramp… we will pour cement to [reduce the slope]. From 13 [millimeters] slope, it will be 11 mm which is very near to the recommended 10 mm,” he said.

The MMDA chief said the improvements would be shouldered by the project’s contractors.

“These will have no cost to the government… the additional lift and improvement of the ramp,” he said.

Artes said the overall improvements to be implemented on the ramp were estimated to be completed in one to two months.

The improvements would be implemented “starting today,” he said. — DVM, GMA Integrated News