The Metropolitan Manila and Development Authority (MMDA) is confident travel along a vital 23.8 kilometer road will improve after it is rehabilitated.

MMDA chairman Romando Artes said the current average travel speed of 20 to 21 kilometers per hour along EDSA will become faster.

“We are confident there will be an improvement, ''he said at a forum in Quezon City.

Earlier, Transportation Secretary Vince Dizon asked the public to be patient in the EDSA rehabilitation, which could take one year and a half to two years.

No date has been set for the EDSA rehabilitation, which was originally set this month.

Artes explained people will no longer encounter potholes and uneven parts in EDSA once its rehabilitation is finished.

Once the rehabilitation of EDSA starts, Artes said the public will have to face heavier traffic, with the average speed going down to 17 kilometers.

There are about 419,000 vehicles traveling along EDSA daily, Artes said, which is above its capacity of 250,000 vehicles a day.

Artes said the MMDA, Department of Public Works and Highways and Department of Transportation have put in place measures to ease traffic while rehabilitation of EDSA is ongoing. DMS