Tuesday, July 17, 2007 By end of this month, flyover to be bidded out and work will start in September By Linette C. Ramos Sun.Star Staff Reporter
WHETHER residents like it or not, the construction of the Banilad-Talamban flyover will start by October unless they can propose an alternative solution to the traffic problem in the area.
Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña and Deputy House Speaker Raul del Mar (Cebu City, north district) said they are giving the concerned parties only until the end of the month to come up with their proposals.
“At the end of the month, that’s the end of the period for the homeowners to submit an alternative solution. What they have given so far is a complementary solution, which we will do anyway. If there is no alternative, then I will give DPWH (Department of Public Works and Highways) the go signal to proceed with the bidding,” del Mar told Sun.Star Cebu.
P143.1M
He said the bidding process and awarding of the P143.1-million project to the winning bidder will take about two months, which means the construction can start by October at the earliest.
Del Mar hopes the 420-meter wide flyover will be completed in six to eight months.
Once construction starts, traffic around the Foodland Complex area, the Banilad Town Center and the Maria Luisa Estate Park will be redirected.
“We agreed that the homeowners will be allowed to present an alternative solution that will substitute for and do away with the necessity for a flyover, but I don’t see it happening. We’re already giving them full opportunity to find a solution,” del Mar said.
He further said the homeowners’ proposal for a road widening and the construction of a skyway instead of a flyover has been considered, but the government does not have a budget for it.
They intend to widen the roads once the flyover is finished since this requires a supplemental budget, said del Mar.
Proposal
Businessmen and home-owners from the Banilad-Talamban area have proposed that the flyover should extend from Foodland to the Country Mall intersection, which then becomes a skyway.
A skyway will cost the government at least P500 million.
In his news conference yesterday, Osmeña said he is willing to listen to the residents and is open to any new proposal.
Like del Mar, the mayor also does not have the budget for a road widening, which will entail expropriation of private lots.
His consultation with residents of Sitio Baca in Barangay Apas, Maria Luisa, Sto. Niño Village and El Dorado Subdivision have yielded inputs, but he cannot cancel the construction of the flyover.
“We have talked to the residents and the Ciudad project is not important to them. What’s more controversial is the flyover.
If they come up with something we don’t know yet, we will be open to it... but based on present evaluation, the flyover is going to push through,” said the mayor.
UP study
Bunny Pages, a resident and owner of a school and other businesses in Banilad, said business groups in the area have commissioned the University of the Philippines Transportation and Urban Planning Department to conduct a traffic study in Banilad.
They asked that city officials wait for the results of the study before starting the construction of the flyover.
But Osmeña and del Mar are not optimistic that the study will yield new results.
“This is the last chance for the people to convince us that the flyover should not push through. We can’t go on like this forever. We can’t get into a situation where there will be no flyover hangtod sa kahangturan. Why? Because I’m not crazy.
We need both the widening and the flyover,” he said.
Osmeña added that the City will not give up the flyover project because it will be difficult to get back the funds for it.
Widening roads
In a phone interview last night, Pages suggested that before the construction of the flyover, DPWH should focus on widening the roads to include a flared intersection to avoid congestion at the intersections.
“The flyover is only a Band-aid solution at best and it will not solve our problem. Why don’t we do the widening first and see what happens, if we still need the flyover. Because if we do the flyover first, we cannot take it down,” he said.
To minimize congestion on Gov. Cuenco Ave. in Banilad and the Talamban main road, Councilor Sylvan Jakosalem also suggested borrowing, leasing or buying vacant lots in the area to be used as loading and unloading bays for public utility jeepneys (PUJs).
Although there are existing loading areas, the PUJs load and unload passengers by the road, which contributes to the congestion, he said.
“The existing loading bays are by the road, so it still causes traffic. If this materializes, we can offer tax incentives or discount to the lot owners,” Jakosalem added.
