JUST how bad does the traffic get in Mandaue City?
The Metro Cebu Bridge Management Board (MCBMB) agreed yesterday to ask the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to conduct traffic counts in five intersections, in order to find out.
It was General Manager Nigel Paul Villarete of the Mactan Cebu International Airport Authority (MCIAA), seconded by Engineer Ricky Dakay, who suggested the activity.
The five intersections the traffic counts will cover are UN Ave. and D.M. Cortes St. (formerly known as Plaridel); A.C. Cortes Ave. and D.M. Cortes; UN Ave and North Hagnaya Road; A.S. Fortuna and North Hagnaya Road; and A.C. Cortes Ave and North Hagnaya Road.
The bridge board also said that DPWH, represented by Assistant Director Nonie Paylado, may continue repairs on the Mandaue-Mactan Bridge while doing the traffic counts.
A problem with the equipment last Sunday forced traffic managers to open only one lane of the bridge to vehicles.
Two lanes were supposed to stay open to vehicles from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.
But at 3 a.m., the contractor’s roto milling machine bogged down. It’s the machine that breaks up and removes the pavement, in order to smoothen the surface before it gets repaved. The removed materials may also be recycled.
Scraped
Before the milling machine conked out, Glenn Antigua, chief of operations of the Traffic Enforcement Agency of Mandaue (Team), said the contractor had scraped about one-fourth of the whole stretch of the bridge.
Personnel from Jegma Construction managed to bring down the heavy equipment from the bridge to the Lapu-Lapu side at 10 p.m. Sunday. They used a dump truck.
During the bridge board meeting, Assistant Director Paylado of DPWH informed the group that GMR-Megawide Cebu Airport Corp. (GMCAC) has offered to conduct the traffic analysis.
However, Villarete said it would be better for DPWH to do it. It can ask its central office for help, if needed.
Director Efren Carreon of the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) 7 suggested that the traffic counts be conducted from 7 to 8 a.m. and from 6 to 7 p.m.
Another survey shall be conducted when classes open in June.
Slower
Villarete also moved to request the Land Transportation Office (LTO) and the Highway Patrol Group (HPG) of the Philippine National Police to field enforcers at the UN Ave. and D.M. Cortes St. intersection, to apprehend drivers who stop, load or unload passengers there.
Traffic remained manageable last Sunday, despite the equipment problem, officials said.
Frank Brazil, chief of the Lapu-Lapu City Traffic Management System, said that the vehicles just slowed down when they crossed the bridge because the road was uneven.
On the Mandaue side, Architect Florentino Nimor, executive director of Team, said the traffic in the area going to the bridge was normal.
Team noticed that fewer vehicles were on D.M. Cortes St. at noon yesterday. Some traffic congestion developed on P. Burgos St.
Brazil, however, said that if the milling machine will not be repaired or replaced in the next few days, the bridge rehabilitation will further be delayed.
Repairs began last Feb. 8 but, until last April 2, focused only on the sidewalks.