Road projects aimed to help decongest Cebu City traffic

CEBU, Philippines — In order to help address heavy traffic in Cebu City, a bypass road and two connector roads will be opened along South Road Properties (SRP) that will be funded by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).

During the executive session yesterday, Nov. 29, 2023, of the Cebu City Council, the DPWH- Regional office presented three major projects.

The proposal was sponsored by Councilor Jerry Guardo, Chairman of the Committee on Infrastructure of Cebu City Council.

The proposal includes a bypass road that would connect Barangays Guadalupe and Lahug. It would be around 2.66 kilometers and will be a four-lane concrete roadway with three bridges.

Its civil works are at P1.11 billion while the right way of acquisition is at P2.82 billion.

In an interview with the media, Guardo said DPWH-7 has completed the feasibility study and the engineering design in 2021. Currently, they are now in consideration of the board of procurement, which options include a regular infrastructure or Official Development Assistance (ODA).

The ODA is a foreign funded agreement but will still be paid by the national government.

“The good thing lang about sa ODA kay i-bid nimo sya ang the whole project at one time, mao ng I would prefer they can be procured through ODA para paspas,” said Guardo.

With the present timeline of DPWH-7, the ODA process will take up the whole year of 2024. According to Guardo, the timeline for the construction would take up to two years, which is expected to set off from 2025 to 2026. This corresponds to an expected completion in 2027.

Aside from the bypass project, DPWH-7 also presented two connector roads at the SRP. These are parallel roads that aim to provide alternate routes between N. Bacalso and SRP with a length of five kilometers.

For this portion, the estimated total project cost is at P2.117 billion for the connector road going to Cabreros St. and another P2.716 billion for the connector road going to Gabuya Street.

“We badly needed these two connector roads. Currently, the only road connecting the SRP to Cebu City is Mambaling, so mao na ang traffic nato is too congested, especially during the Sinulog, it is only the entry and exit points that we have,” said Guardo.

MMDA TEAM IS HERE

Meanwhile, a team from the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) is currently in Cebu City until the end of this week to personally observe and assess the traffic situation on the ground after a visit of Cebu City representatives in Manila some months ago.

The MMDA team here is led by its Development Management Officer Antonio Pagulayan Jr.

Together with Pagulayan are engineers, planning officers, and computer programmers of MMDA as disclosed by Cebu City’s PIO.

The MMDA is expected to share their expertise on traffic management as done in Metro Manila.

Pagulayan was able to talk to Mayor Mike Rama via zoom concerning their visit. Also at that virtual meeting were CCTO Head Raquel Arce, CCTO assistant head Atty. Kent Francesco Jungoy, City Administrator Collin Rossel, and the Mayor’s Special assistant Ernest Herrera.

Mayor Rama expressed his gratitude to the MMDA for taking time out to be in Cebu City and hopes for a fruitful discussion together with the city’s own CCTO.

Traffic congestion in Cebu City has become a bigger problem over the years, not to mention the concern on the city’s current traffic lights.

Back in July this year, Herrera reported the city’s supposed “state-of-the-art traffic light system which includes a counter purchased at the time of the late mayor Edgardo Labella is now considered obsolete.”

Herrera said such a system is no longer “recommendable” based on his visit to MMDA in Manila together with CCTO assistant head, Atty. Jongoy.

Herrera had expressed after their visit that the city may be able to adopt the system that MMDA has done in all of the 17 LGUs in Metro Manila. — (FREEMAN)