AN OFFICIAL of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) in Northern Mindanao said there are still no funds to put up streetlights along the four-kilometer coastal road in Barangay Gusa, Cagayan de Oro City.
Engr. Leowald Pecore, project engineer of DPWH-Northern Mindanao, said since the coastal road opened in November last year, they have requested from its national office an amount to put streetlights in the coastal road, but to no avail.
Pecore said they have requested anew and is still waiting for the budget to be released.
City officials, including traffic enforcers have earlier called the DPWH to put lights, citing frequent accidents along the road and the increased crimes recorded in the area because of the absence of lights.
“We also understand that the priority of the office now is to finally connect the coastal road from Gusa until Puntod. Hopefully this year, we can finally complete the project that is expected to boost our city's trade and commerce activities,” he said.
He said that there are only about four sections of the unfinished part of the coastal road that have ongoing expropriation proceedings, while some are under negotiation to solve the road right of way issues. He said the road right of way issues are the only barrier for the project to be completed.
“The budget for the completion of the coastal road is already available. The streetlights, we still have to request so we have to wait in the meantime,” he said.
Less than a month after the coastal road was opened, a 25-year-old man riding a motorcycle died after a deadly collision with a pickup truck in the same area.
In the February, another vehicular accident transpired at the coastal road that also left a motorist dead.