(Second of two parts)
TUNNELS are expensive, difficult to build and very inconvenient to the public (look at N. Bacalso Ave.). It will only work with efficient large tunnel borers and complicated machinery that the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and its contractors currently have no access to.
Critics have called us obstructionists wanting to block projects. Let me remind them that in this Regional Development Council (RDC), we have endorsed more infrastructure projects and debated on their merits than ever before.
We have endorsed the Metro Cebu Expressway, the biggest nationally-funded infrastructure project since the Marcelo Fernan bridge. It is a 6-lane road connecting Naga to Danao with a total length of 73 kms. traversing the mountains and linking our cities and towns with arterial roads that connects to the main roads.
There are two bypass roads in the pipeline: the Mandaue-Consolacion-Liloan coastal highway and the Talisay-Minglanilla-Naga bypass road. Studies are being completed for the Guadalupe-Gorordo bypass road, a project that was endorsed 20 years ago but has not moved until we took charge.
Initial funding has been made for the widening of Hernan Cortes Road, the only parallel road we have to Ban-Tal. We have gotten the go signal from the Department of Transportation (DOTr) for an intelligent traffic system that automatically monitors vehicular flow and adjusts accordingly. These are part of a road network masterplan prepared by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
Would you build a house without a plan? We wouldn’t, so we are believers in following a plan in sequence. It has been a habit of government officials to start with building whatever is more expensive first, like building the roof or kitchen, hoping they will fit when the columns and foundations go up.--Glenn Soco, chairperson, RDC-Infrastructure Development Committee