Thursday, September 25, 2008 November opening for flyover
PROPOSED to be completed last July 31 yet, the Banilad-Talamban flyover and side roads are only 80 percent complete and will only be fully passable by Nov. 26.
Officials of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) 7 and WTG Construction and Development Corp. told the Cebu City Council yesterday the flyover can already be used by Oct. 25.
The two-lane side roads, however, will still have to undergo the curing process, which will take 28 days. It will be completed by Nov. 26, the last day of the construction period as specified in the contract.
During the session yesterday, Councilor Augustus Pe Jr. also reminded the DPWH 7 and WTG of the unpaid overtime pay of the City’s traffic enforcers assigned at the construction site.
Pe lamented that the City Traffic Operations Management (Citom) personnel have not been paid for their overtime work since July.
DPWH 7 Legal Officer Augustinito Hermoso said the funds for the overtime work payment are available, but certain procedures will have to be followed before they can release these to WTG.
“We can’t directly pay Citom for that because the contract is between DPWH and the contractor. The payment for Citom was incorporated in the pay items, so the procedure is for WTG to request for a variation order so we can release the funds,” he told the council.
DPWH 7 allocated P1.4 million for the overtime pay of traffic enforcers but WTG requested for only P500,000.
Hermoso and WTG project engineer Christopher Semilla told the council that by Nov. 26, the flyover, side roads, curb and gutter, concrete sidewalk and the drainage around the flyover will already be completed and passable.
“By Oct. 25, the flyover itself will already be completed and passable because it shall have gone through the curing period by then. But whether or not it will be opened to motorists will depend on Citom,” Hermoso said. (LCR)
