It’s been a week of great milestones in Cebu’s march to progress and development.
Last July 31 was the 36th anniversary of the Mactan-Cebu International Airport Authority (MCIAA) whose legislative charter as a government-owned and controlled corporation, Republic Act 6958, was signed into law by President Corazon Aquino.
Mandated to operate the Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIA) and all other airport facilities that may be established within the Province of Cebu, MCIAA is a brainchild of two outstanding Cebuano legislators, Congressman Raul V. del Mar and Senator John H. Osmeña.
Meanwhile, last Aug. 3 was the 28th anniversary of the inauguration of the Marcelo Fernan Bridge led by then newly elected President Joseph Estrada. Also called the Second Mactan-Mandaue Bridge, the 1.237-kilometer bridge connects Mandaue City on Cebu’s mainland to Lapu-Lapu City on Mactan Island.
With funding assistance from Japan’s Overseas Economic Cooperation Fund, the four-lane Fernan Bridge had been a welcome relief for Cebu whose older two-lane bridge that opened in 1973 had been suffocating with heavy traffic brought about by increased flights at the MCIA.
The MCIAA and Fernan Bridge have had a symbiotic relationship that’s important for Cebu. The bridge increases access to Mactan island where the airport is located. Better access between the two means easier movement of passengers and cargo, making Cebu more attractive for business and tourism.
The Fernan bridge remains as Cebu’s most important and heavily-used link to Mactan despite the subsequent opening of a third bridge, the 8.9-kilometer Cebu-Cordova Link Expressway in 2023.
The Fernan bridge especially benefits Lapu-Lapu City where, apart from the airport, economic zones are thriving well with topnotch hotels and beach resorts. No wonder, officials in Lapu-Lapu City are exerting all efforts at making economic growth sustainable by calling for well-planned infrastructure support.
One such project is the Lapu-Lapu Coastal Road being proposed by Lapu-Lapu City District Congressman Junard “Ahong” Chan and City Mayor Ma. Cynthia “Cindi” King-Chan. Designed to ease traffic congestion near the Fernan bridge, the project complements the fourth Mactan-Cebu bridge being planned by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).
After months of coordination, the DPWH has finally adopted the coastal road alignment proposed by the Chans as part of the fourth bridge. Once completed, the two infrastructure projects which will be constructed simultaneously will operate as a single transport corridor that will improve connectivity between the Cebu mainland and Mactan.
Earlier, DPWH has proposed using part of the ML Quezon Highway crossing from the airport as the fourth bridge’s approach. The Chans however asserted that this should be at their proposed coastal road across the northeastern side of Mandaue City so that traffic will be dispersed away from the airport.
Indeed, as the Chans correctly pointed out, adopting the DPWH proposal will worsen the traffic load along ML Quezon highway which leads to and from the airport, aside from its already hosting a nearby economic zone, malls, hotels and business centers.
As it is, there are already more than 100 companies employing 60,000 workers at the Mactan Economic Zone alone. Even without the fourth bridge there yet, foot and vehicular traffic in the area is already quite high.
DPWH’s agreement to the proposal by the Chans is therefore most welcome. Sometime in the future, this landmark cooperation between the DPWH and Lapu-Lapu City officials ought to be celebrated as yet another milestone in Cebu’s continued march to progress and development.
