Monday, February 04, 2008 ‘There’s life after a flyover is built’ By Rene H. Martel Sun.Star Staff Reporter
CONSTRUCTION of the P86.9-million Banilad flyover started without much fanfare last Friday, Feb. 1.
But after last year’s arguments against the project from stakeholders like business owners and subdivision residents, controversy, however, continues to hound it.
The City Traffic Operations Management (Citom), upon the Department of Public Works and Highways’ (DPWH) request for help, came up with an odd-even scheme for taxis and private vehicles and rerouting for jeepneys.
But the two traffic measures were scrapped after a two-day dry run because of the confusion it caused.
Last Wednesday, or two days before the construction was scheduled to start, Vice Mayor Michael Rama and the Cebu City Council asked if it was still possible to postpone the construction.
The council suggested for the DPWH to first purchase the commercial lots on both sides of Gov. Mariano Cuenco Ave., right by the construction site, for the creation of additional lanes to lessen the motorists’ woes.
The council then formed a committee that will also look into the situation, as it is expected that traffic in the Banilad-Talamban area will get worse over the next six months.
In an interview, project proponent Rep. Raul del Mar (Cebu City, north district) answered some nagging questions and tried to shed light on why the project has to push through.
It was asked that the road be expanded before the flyover will be built. Don’t you think it was a valid point?
Yes, it is a valid point. But the available funds are for a flyover structure. And it cannot be realigned anymore. We don’t even know when we’ll be able to get the funds for the road widening. So it’s best to go ahead with the construction of the flyover first.
Construction was postponed once. Would it not be possible to put it off again, if the reasons are valid enough?
Postponing the construction is already precipitated with the start of the construction last Feb. 1, as scheduled.
Besides, the reasons advanced for further postponement of the construction are basically the same ones already thoroughly discussed during the public hearings conducted by the DPWH, the City Council, the mayor and myself.
Moreover, postponements had already been granted upon prior request of the City Council (last year, when Rama and city councilors asked for a one-month delay so they could consult with the subdivision residents before endorsing the project).
And another postponement to Feb. 1 was made upon the request of the BTC (Banilad Town Centre) businessmen to allow their undisturbed operations during the peak sales period of Christmas and Sinulog.
What do you think should every stakeholder do now that the project has started?
Stakeholders are very well aware that traffic during peak hours, which is already heavy, will be confounded terribly during the construction period. So they already know what adjustments to undertake to mitigate its adverse effects.
Basic is avoiding the construction area, or passing through the same (place) during non-peak hours.
The Citom has already prepared the rerouting plan for the alternate roads, with asphalting done by the DPWH.
What is your advice to the Cebu City officials who wanted that construction be started only after one or two months for road expansion to proceed at the same time?
I don’t think they welcome my unsolicited advice. But I hope they can find a way to put all further talks on postponement behind us, as it (postponement talks) will only get the suffering motorists more riled up, which serves no useful purpose.
Instead, all efforts should be directed now toward helping alleviate the adverse effects, or lessening the inconvenience to everyone around.
What hurdles did you encounter just so this project will come to fruition?
Mainly on sourcing the funds for the project, which entailed two budget years, as well as the additional fund of P50 million required because of the increase in the BIR (Bureau of Internal Revenue) valuation (of lots adjacent to the construction site) from P3,450 per square meter to P15,500 per square meter, which caught up with the project because of the delay.
(Upon del Mar’s request, the amount was successfully inserted last week in the 2008 national budget during a Senate and House of Representatives conference.)
The project was originally proposed to be built along Juan Luna Ave. in Barangay Mabolo, but those who opposed it successfully blocked its implementation. What made the Bani-lad flyover’s construction more pressing?
No. The project was not originally proposed along the Juan Luna Ave.-F. Cabahug St. (intersection) but that both flyovers for the two junctions were in the pipeline, with the Juan Luna-F. Cabahug ahead of the Banilad (Gov. Mariano Cuenco Ave.)-A.S. Fortuna St. flyover.
However, before the J. Luna-F. Cabahug (flyover) was started, the situation pointed to the Banilad-Fortuna junction as more congested, thus it was prioritized first.
Establishment owners argued the project will kill their businesses. Do you think so? Would the benefits of having the flyover be enough to offset such an eventuality?
I hope and pray not. This was also the same apprehension of the adjacent lot owners of the first and second flyovers (along Archbishop Reyes Ave., at the Juan Luna junction and at the Escario Ext. intersection). Fortunately, it did not happen.
As a matter of fact, the Parklane Hotel was constructed near the A. Reyes-Escario (Ext.) flyover, and a second hotel is under construction, plus the Chua (BDO) building (built) on the other corner.
This shows that there’s life after a flyover construction, after all.
It is a given that traffic in the Banilad-Talamban area is getting worse. Would the flyover be enough to solve the problem? If not, what else should be done?
We have always stated that the flyover will not solve the entire traffic problem of the Banilad-Talamban route.
But it is clearly one of the most appropriate projects to solve the problem, as it will decongest the traffic gridlock of the intersection, and provide a continuous traffic flow, north and south (directions), across the intersection.
The second project is of course the widening of the entire length of the Banilad-Talamban road, as well as the widening of the parallel roads of H. Cortes and F. Cabahug Sts., P. Remedio St. linking A.S. Fortuna to Cabancalan (in Mandaue City), and E. Cortes and S. Suico Sts. linking Cabancalan and Canduman, (Mandaue).
The road from (Barangays) Talamban to Pit-os should be widened also.
The funding requirement for all these is tremendous. It’s impossible to get it all at one time. So we’ll just have to do it by phases. The first phase I shall source funds for is the widening of the Mahiga Bridge (by the Gaisano Country Mall) and the road up to A.S. Fortuna St.
But you even have to scrounge for funds for this project alone for several years. Does it mean the traffic problem is here to stay?
No problem is here to stay unsolved, for so long as you have public servants who care and act for the best interest of the majority of the people they serve.
