EXCEPT for uncleared interior roads and uninformed residents, the Cebu City Transportation Office (CCTO) and the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH)-Central Visayas did not encounter major hitches during the first day of the traffic rerouting dry run on N. Bacalso Ave. yesterday.
The dry run is in preparation for DWPH’s construction of the P683-million underpass and other road improvement projects on N. Bacalso Ave.
DPWH 7 Project Engineer Roy dela Cruz said that instead of diverting all vehicles going to the south to Caimito St. upon reaching the start of the road closure in Barangay Mambaling, as agreed in the traffic rerouting plan, private vehicles were allowed to access one lane of the Cebu City-bound lane of the N. Bacalso Ave.
“At 9 a.m. (yesterday), CCTO has converted the open lane of N. Bacalso Ave. to two-way traffic to decongest Caimito St., which is the main access of vehicles that are bound for the southern part of the city,” dela Cruz told reporters.
Dela Cruz along with other DPWH 7 personnel, was in the area for several hours yesterday to observe the traffic flow.
CCTO traffic enforcer Bonifacio Asentista Jr., who was tasked to supervise traffic flow at the intersection of N. Bacalso Ave. and F. Llamas St. said build-up of vehicles was observed around 7 a.m. to 8 a.m. yesterday.
After an hour, though, Asentista said they noted a free flow of vehicles within the closed road since buses, mini-buses and trucks bound for the southern towns were diverted to the Cebu South Coastal Road.
Traffic rerouting for the dry run will continue today.
Asked if they will immediately implement the project after the two-day dry run, dela Cruz said it will still depend on the recommendation that the CCTO will submit to them today.
Councilor Dave Tumulak, who inspected the area early morning yesterday, said some of the interior roads like Rizal Ave. Ext. and Ganciang St. need road patching.
There were alternative roads that were not cleared of obstructions like cars parked along the road.
Meanwhile, some Cebu City south barangay captains and former mayor Michael Rama expressed concerns on the project, saying they were not consulted properly about the implementation.
Inayawan Barangay Captain Lutheree Ignacio-Soon, Poblacion Pardo Barangay Captain Althea Lim and Mambaling Barangay Captain Winefredo Go said they were not invited during the stakeholders meeting that DPWH 7 called last week to discuss the project.
“We are not against any development but you should have consulted us. Widening should be done first,” Rama told reporters in a news conference he called yesterday.
Some residents, whose houses were located along the wall of the underpass, also expressed worries that an access road for their vehicles going to the main road will be blocked once construction of the project will start.
