THE Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) has allocated P200 million for the acquisition of road right-of-way (RROW) for the Guadalupe-Lahug bypass road that will cut travel time between the two barangays in Cebu City.
If the amount is not enough, the agency will raise it to compensate affected property owners, said DPWH 7 Director Edgar Tabacon.
He said existing roads that will form part of the project will be widened, while a 400-meter portion that is currently occupied by informal settlers will be opened to traffic.
He said if the RROW will be completed next year, civil works will be included in the DPWH’s annual budget for the 2021 General Appropriations Act.
Tabacon said the bypass road will start near the Guadalupe Barangay Hall and end beside the University of the Philippines Cebu in Lahug. It will run parallel to Escario St., from the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) office to Gorordo Ave., passing the Capitol compound.
Tabacon said the project will also decongest traffic on Escario St., especially during peak hours, since vehicles from Banawa, Labangon, Tisa or Punta Princesa that are headed for Lahug, and vice versa, will take the bypass road.
Outgoing Chairman Glenn Soco of the Regional Development Council’s Infrastructure Development Committee said that although the bypass road is less than four kilometers long, it has a 400-meter portion that runs through hills and other obstructions.
“We are happy because at least there is a movement for the project now,” Soco said. (EOB)