Epifanio de los Santos Avenue

Epifanio de los Santos Avenue
patrickroque01 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Name	Epifanio de los Santos Avenue
Caption	Aerial view of the EDSA Shrine and surrounding area along the avenue.
Length km	23.8
Direction a	North
Terminus a	Monumento Circle in Caloocan
Direction b	South
Terminus b	SM Mall of Asia in Pasay
Cities	Caloocan, Quezon City, San Juan, Mandaluyong, Makati, Pasay
Established	1940 (as Highway 54)
System	Philippine highway network
Route	C-4

Epifanio de los Santos Avenue, commonly known by its acronym EDSA, is the longest and most consequential circumferential highway in Metro Manila, the capital region of the Philippines. Spanning approximately 23.8 kilometers across six major cities, it serves as a vital transportation artery, a central commercial corridor, and a historic site of profound political change. The avenue is named after the distinguished Filipino historian, Epifanio de los Santos, and has evolved from a pre-war thoroughfare into the iconic spine of the Greater Manila Area.

History

The avenue was originally constructed in 1940 under the administration of President Manuel L. Quezon and was named Highway 54, part of the Dewey Boulevard extension plan to develop Quezon City as the new capital. Its early development was intertwined with the growth of suburban communities like Cubao and Diliman. Following the devastation of World War II and the Battle of Manila, the highway became crucial for reconstruction and urban expansion. In 1959, the Congress of the Philippines passed Republic Act 2140, renaming the highway in honor of Epifanio de los Santos, a renowned scholar and former director of the National Library of the Philippines. Its most defining historical moment was the peaceful People Power Revolution of 1986, where millions of Filipinos converged to protest the regime of Ferdinand Marcos, leading to its overthrow and the restoration of democracy under Corazon Aquino.

Route description

EDSA forms the C-4 route of the Metro Manila arterial road system, tracing a crescent-shaped path that skirts the eastern and southern edges of the original City of Manila. It begins at the Monumento Circle in Caloocan, near the statue of Andrés Bonifacio, and heads southeast through Quezon City, passing major districts like Balintawak, Cubao, and Diliman. It then cuts through the cities of San Juan and Mandaluyong before entering the financial heart of Makati, where it is flanked by skyscrapers like the GT Tower and the PBCom Tower. The avenue continues into Pasay, passing the SM Mall of Asia complex and the Manila Bay reclamation area before terminating near the Cultural Center of the Philippines complex.

Significance and landmarks

The avenue is the economic and cultural lifeline of the metropolis, lined with colossal shopping centers such as SM North EDSA, Trinoma, SM Megamall, and Robinsons Galleria. It is also a site of major national institutions, including the Camp Aguinaldo and Camp Crame military camps, the Ninoy Aquino International Airport access road, and the iconic EDSA Shrine, a Roman Catholic church dedicated to Our Lady of Peace that served as the spiritual center of the People Power Revolution. Other notable landmarks include the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority headquarters, the Mactan-Lapu-Lapu Monument, and the entertainment hub Araneta City.

Transportation and traffic

EDSA is the primary route for the Metro Rail Transit Line 3 (MRT-3), an elevated railway that runs above its central corridor, and is integrated with the LRT-1 at Baclaran and the LRT-2 in Cubao. It is infamous for severe traffic congestion, which the MMDA manages through schemes like the Unified Vehicular Volume Reduction Program (UVVRP), commonly known as the number coding scheme. The avenue is a major corridor for public utility vehicles, including buses operated by the Provincial Bus Operators Association of the Philippines and jeepneys, with key terminals at PITX and Ayala Avenue.

Future developments

Several major infrastructure projects aim to decongest the avenue and transform its urban landscape. The flagship Metro Manila Subway project, funded in part by the Japan International Cooperation Agency, will have several stations along its route, including at North Avenue and Ortigas Avenue. The construction of the NLEX Connector Road and the Skyway Stage 3 project by San Miguel Corporation is designed to provide alternative elevated routes. Long-term urban plans from the National Economic and Development Authority envision the further development of mixed-use centers around transit hubs and the potential expansion of BRT systems under the Department of Transportation.

Category:Roads in the Philippines Category:Transport in Metro Manila Category:Circumferential roads in Metro Manila