A PORTION of the pedestrian overpass near a university and a mall along Gov. Mariano Cuenco Ave. in Banilad, Cebu City is temporarily closed to the public effective Sunday, September 10, for safety reasons.
Apas barangay captain Ramil Ayuman said the dilapidated part of the facility, which could collapse on motorists below, will be cordoned off.
"Ato lang sa gyud butangan og cordon hangtod makasiguro ta nga dili na siya peligro agian (We'll have to cordon off the affected area until we are sure that it's safe for the public to pass again)," he said.
Motorists passing under the pedestrian overpass, commonly called a skywalk, are also advised to take caution.
Photos of the structure, with a sagging beam, were posted on social media last week, with some netizens calling it an "accident waiting to happen."
City Engineer Josefa Ylanan said she has written a report on the matter and asked the Department of Public Works and Highways(DPWH)-Central Visayas to look into it.
Skywalks and similar infrastructures are under the national government, but Ylanan said she has assigned City Hall engineers to monitor the area.
"It's not under our jurisdiction, but public safety is paramount. We recommended that the skywalk be maintained regularly, considering that it's one of the busiest and most used skywalks in the city," Ylanan said.
She said the structure should be regularly maintained since it has been damaged by several vehicular accidents in the past years.
The most recent incident happened last October, after a 10-wheeler container truck got stuck under the skywalk. Traffic flow in the area was stalled for at least two hours because of the incident.
"There may have been no reports of casualties and/or injuries at the moment, but we don't want to wait for that," Ylanan said.
As of Sunday afternoon, DPWH Cebu City district engineer Nicomedes Leonor has not answered SunStar Cebu's calls. (RTF/SunStar Cebu)