For 10 roads, DPWH tries to beat poll ban

CEBU City’s traffic managers advised motorists on the possible congestion on some national roads when rehabilitation and reconstruction of the roads start this month.

Among the 10 roads the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) will rehabilitate are N. Bacalso Ave., Archbishop Reyes Ave., Sanciangko St., Palma St. and Katipunan St.

Access roads to tourism destinations on M.J. Cuenco Ave. and in Barangay Banilad, and the junctions near Parklane Hotel and the IT Park will also be upgraded.

Engineer Nicomedes Leonor, head of the Cebu City District Engineering Office, said the road works will start any time this month, ahead of the start of the ban on construction projects on March 29.

The contractors are just waiting to secure their hauling permit from City Hall, he
said.

He said they don’t expect the projects to cause traffic congestion since the contractors will work only from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m., and some of the projects are small in scope.
Local DPWH offices are only allowed to undertake projects costing less than P50 million.
Leonor also assured that proper warning signs and barricades will be installed at the project sites to ensure public safety.

But Cebu City Traffic Operations Management (Citom) Executive Director Rafael Yap said they will still deploy traffic enforcers to the 10 project sites to minimize the impact of the construction on the traffic flow.

“Regardless of the size of the project, it will have an impact on traffic. There will be congestion on the road and motorists will be inconvenienced so we will put enforcers where they are needed,” he told Sun.Star Cebu.

Yap received last Monday a letter from Leonor, informing Citom of the construction projects and the schedule of the repair works.