OFFICIALS of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) 7 assured that no house and lot owned by private persons in Lapu-Lapu City would be affected by the construction of the fourth bridge that will connect Mactan Island and mainland Cebu.
The DPWH, though, had foreseen that several residents and establishments in Barangays Centro, Looc, Opao, Umapad and Paknaan in Mandaue City will be affected by the construction of the coastal road component of the bridge project.
According to DPWH’s estimate, 104 houses and 28 establishments in Mandaue City and two in Lapu-Lapu City will be affected.
Nonito Paylado, head of the DPWH 7’s planning division, said they chose from three areas or routes for the bridge based on the feasibility study made by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica).
The DPWH and Jica opted for the area that has fewer residents and establishments than the other areas, according to Paylado.
Paylado said no residents from Ibo and Pusok would be affected by the project but some establishments will be affected, including restaurants in a mall strip and a portion of the Philippine Economic Zone Authority.
The DPWH promised to pay owners of the affected structures based on the latest market value of their properties.
“We are trying to obtain the most feasible option in terms of all criteria considered—social impact, cost, economic contribution, traffic decongestion—and this is the most feasible option determined by the Jica consultants,” Paylado said.
Paylado was among the officials present during the public consultation held at the Lapu-Lapu City Government’s session hall on Tuesday, June 4, 2019. Some residents also attended the consultation.
The fourth bridge, which will be called the New Cebu Mactan Bridge, will connect the area near the Mactan Export Processing Zone (Mepz) in Barangay Ibo, Lapu-Lapu City to Cansaga Bay on the side of Barangay Paknaan, Mandaue City.
The bridge is seen by the DPWH as the solution to the traffic jam often experienced by motorists passing the cities of Mandaue and Lapu-Lapu and the northern Cebu towns of Consolacion and Liloan.
The bridge’s design also includes an exit lane going to Barangay Pusok, which is intended for motorists who are not going to the Mactan Cebu International Airport.
Exit lanes in Mandaue City are also part of the design of the bridge.
Part of the plan is to connect the fourth bridge to the Mandaue Coastal Road, which will traverse the two older bridges and the coastal barangays.
The fourth bridge has a length of 3.2 kilometers. The construction is scheduled to start in the later part of 2021.
For his part, Vincent Degamo asked during the public hearing about the bridge’s effectiveness in solving the traffic woes in the cities of Mandaue and Lapu-Lapu.
Degamo, an architect working for Coral Point Properties, said their establishments will be affected by the project, including the Mactan Marina Mall and restaurants within their property.
He lamented that the construction of the bridge will discourage customers from visiting their establishments. (From GCM of SuperBalita Cebu, KAL)