A PORTION of Osmeña Blvd. was temporarily closed to traffic due to danger posed by the removal of a skywalk along the area.
Kent Francesco Jongoy, Cebu City Transportation Office (CCTO) legal officer, said the reason for the closure was the observed debris falling from the skywalk.
(It’s not safe for people to pass through the area due to falling debris.)
He said they were supposed to close the road next week, but they had it earlier to ensure safety.
He said this was also the reason why the CCTO was not able to issue a public notice.
The CCTO closed a part of Osmeña Blvd., starting from Arlington Pond Street near CAP Art Gallery building to Fuente Osmeña Circle.
All vehicles headed for downtown (Jones) were advised to take F. Ramos St., then turn right to Arlington Pond St., and turn left to Osmeña Blvd.
All vehicles bound for Uptown (Capitol and B. Rodriguez St.) area must turn right to Arlington Pond St., then turn left onto F. Ramos St., and turn left to Fuente Osmeña Circle.
Jongoy said the CCTO will still meet with the contractor on Friday, February 16, 2024, to discuss the timeframe of the closure.
He said they still need to discuss since the emergency closure was unplanned.
He added that the road was supposed to be closed starting Saturday, February 17, 2024.
Christy Gadingan, Hunan Road and Bridge Construction Corp representative, told SunStar Cebu on Thursday that there is a resolution coming from the Traffic Management Coordination Committee (TMCC), which approved the removal of the two skywalks within one month.
In the unsigned resolution provided by Jongoy, TMCC approved the request of Cebu Bus Rapid Transit (CBRT) contractor for the temporary and partial road closure of Fuente-Arlington and RR Landon-N. Bacalso.
The committee approved the request, provided that the removal of the two skywalks would not be simultaneous, but cumulative and separate from the other to avoid traffic impact due to closure.
According to the resolution, Fuente-Arlington was scheduled starting from February 5 to February 20, 2024, while RR Landon-N. Bacaslo from February 21 to March 6, 2024.
These are the two areas where the skywalks along Osmeña Blvd. are located.
Meanwhile, Jongoy said the traffic congestion on Wednesday, February 14, was not due to the removal of the skywalk along Osmeña Blvd. but due to the celebration of Valentine's Day.
Jongoy said most of the areas where traffic was observed were areas with bouquet vendors, such as along Archbishop Reyes.
Aside from areas with vendors, Jongoy said traffic was also observed in nearby commercial establishments where mostly couples had their meals. (AML)