Monday, April 07, 2008 Citom, hotel contractor to discuss repair of road
THE Cebu City Traffic Operations Management (Citom) board is meeting this week with representatives of Young Builders Corp., which is biding for more time to repair and reopen J. Solon St.
But City Councilor Sylvan Jakosalem said the board earlier decided not to allow the company to continue constructing a 25-story hotel at the corner of J. Solon-Escario Ext.-Archbishop Reyes Ave.
The board wanted Young Builders to work first on repairing J. Solon so the road can be fully opened for the public’s use as soon as possible.
Even without the permits, the company last May blocked for “safety reasons” a portion of the road for its construction, as a buffer was needed for the excavation. The soil was loose, which increased the risk of a slide.
Last August, continuous rain caused a portion of the road to cave in, as the retaining wall of the excavation for the basement hotel that Young Builders was contracted to build collapsed.
Cease-and-desist
Cracks were also noted along Archbishop Reyes Ave.
A cease-and-desist order was issued against Young Builders, but it was later allowed to continue with its work after it promised to repair the road.
In a letter to Mayor Tomas Osmeña last month, Young Builders Corp. requested for four more months to fulfill its promise to restore and reopen the road.
“Restoration of the damaged asphalt road is going to be shouldered by this company, but only after the building’s retaining wall and backfilling works are completed,” said project in-charge Rommel Villareal.
Deep excavation
“And considering that we have made a very deep excavation, which reaches as deep as 15 meters, our main concern is the backfilling works, which until now is ongoing,” he added.
He said that while the retaining wall was finished last January yet, backfilling works require them four months more.
Jakosalem said that because of the danger posed by the unfixed road, the Citom will also ban trucks, including those that bring construction materials, from entering the area.
He said the company will be asked to explain why it failed to fully reopen the road eight months after a portion collapsed last August.
“We find it irresponsible for the contractor when they have not finished the (repairs of the) public road, yet they are going upward with their construction (of the hotel). In the eyes of the public, it sets a precedent for other contractors to do the same, if the City will not do something,” Jakosalem said.
