PUBLIC works Secretary Mark Villar will lead the inauguration of the Coastal Road on Friday, November 10, an official of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) in Northern Mindanao said.
Vinah Maghinay, DPWH-Northern Mindanao spokesperson, Secretary Villar will be on hand in the opening of both the coastal road project and the Igpit Bridge which was also finished this year.
Maghinay said a dry run will commence on Friday morning, followed by the ceremonies at 1 p.m.
Maghinay said the dry run will observe the efficiency of the traffic flow and to foresee issues that may arise once the section will be completely opened to traffic on the same day. Only buses, trucks, and private vehicles will be allowed to pass the coastal road
This is the fifth time that the DPWH changed the schedule of the inauguration first on November 15, then moved to November 10. It announced again last Tuesday that it will instead hold the inauguration on November 24, but reset it to November 23 on Wednesday, November 8.
Maghinay apologized for the confusion saying the schedule for the formal inauguration had to fit Villar's schedule.
Meanwhile, DPWH-Northern Mindanao regional director Virgilio Eduarte appeals to the parents living along the area, to "keep the children away from the road."
"Our project engineer on site has observed that children were invading the streets and that’s very dangerous by the time the road will be opened. Thus, we are requesting the parents of these kids to keep the children away from the road to avoid accidents and we already have coordinated with the local government unit on this matter,” Eduarte said.
The construction of the 12.77 KM Cagayan de Oro Coastal Road will serve as a bypass road starting from Barangay Gusa in the eastern side all the way to the western side in Barangay Igpit, Opol town in Misamis Oriental, thus connecting 6 barangays in the city and two 2 barangays in Opol.
The said project has been suspended for quite a while due to unresolved road right of way issues. One major RROW concern in Lapasan section has been negotiated and demolished on August 25 this year, which marked the resumption of the construction activities in the said section.
While the Gusa-Agora Section of the Coastal Road will be opened this month, the construction of the Agora-PPA-Corrales section is also a work in progress, Maghinay said, adding, 4 other RROW issues were already submitted to the Office of the Solicitor General for preparation of the filing of the expropriation cases.