“NO MORE room for road widening.”
This is what the mayor of Consolacion, Cebu said in response to the traffic problem faced by residents from Consolacion town and those who are traveling north whose commuting woes have been exacerbated by road work being done in the area.
In an interview on SunStar Cebu’s online program “Beyond the Headlines” on Thursday, Aug. 24, 2023, Consolacion Mayor Teresa Alegado said the concreting project of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) has been experiencing delays in work due to the weather.
The current road concreting work of the DPWH starts in Barangay Cansaga and ends in Barangay Pitogo. It spans around three kilometers. Alegado said the concreting work will be finished around December
Alegado also said that during peak times the traffic lasts around three hours and especially if there are emergency vehicles using the road. Alegado said they want to set up a U-turn slot at SM Consolacion to ease congestion.
The road affected by the concreting work has drawn the ire of motorists because of the long travel time and traffic.
“Cge pa ta ani Consolacion, Cebu. Kada adlaw wala jud sulosyon bsag mangadlawon paku gkan balay ani ghapon maabtan wa na jud ta ani,” said one netizen on Facebook.
(How long will this go on, Consolacion, Cebu? Every day, there is no solution. Even if I leave the house at dawn, this is still the situation I meet.)
Alegado responded to the grievances of netizens by saying that the local government unit (LGU) is working on remedies and that the road work is not the responsibility of the LGU, but the DPWH, since the road being worked on is a national highway and falls under the jurisdiction of the DPWH.
“There are really unreasonable people nga sila na lang gyud ang correct (who think they are the only ones who are correct),” said Alegado in response to the complaints of netizens.
Alegado said there is “no more room for road widening” on the roads from Cansaga to Pitogo and the usual traffic areas in Consolacion because the cost to acquire the road right of way is high as a solution for the traffic situation and that that there are cheaper alternatives.
Alegado said the DPWH had made a feasibility study on the traffic situation of the area and proposed constructing a flyover from Cenapro in Mandaue City to Barangay Pitogo in Consolacion as a viable solution to the traffic problem.
Alegado did not give a figure on the cost of the flyover but said it would cost less than acquiring the road right of way.
There is no timeline on when the construction of such a flyover will start.