Cebu braces for heavy traffic as underpass construction starts

Bumper to bumper traffic along Escario Street, Cebu City is considered to be “normal” in this part of the city, particularly during early morning or afternoon rush hours.
(CDN PHOTO/JUNJIE MENDOZA)

CEBU CITY—Expect traffic to be heavy along N. Bacalso Avenue and F. Llamas Street here next month when the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) starts the construction of an underpass projected to cut travel time to the south by half.

Ador Canlas, DPWH director for Central Visayas, said a portion of the road would have to be closed down and a traffic rerouting scheme implemented once the construction of the P638 million project started.

DPWH has scheduled a dry run for the rerouting of public utility jeepneys (PUJ) on June 7 and 8.

“Depending on the results of the dry run, we will know how the situation will be when we start implementing the project,” said Canlas during a stakeholders’ meeting at the DPWH regional office on Wednesday morning.

If the dry run went well, he said the contractor would be asked to mobilize their equipment for the first phase of the project.

According to DPWH project engineer Roy dela Cruz, the first phase of the project will involve boring and piling works at the portion of the project site on the southbound lane of N. Bacalso Avenue in front of a fastfood restaurant.

He said each of the project’s phases will take three to four months.

The underpass will be 700 meters long and will have a two-way, two-lane depressed structure at the intersection of N. Bacalso Avenue and F. Llamas Street.

To build the underpass, the DPWH needs to widen the existing road in the area by 20 to 30 meters. –Jose Santino Bunachita