CITY OF SAN FERNANDO---The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) in Central Luzon expressed hopes that the construction of the proposed Dolores Flyover-Lazatin Flyover viaduct will start in 2025.
During Tuesday's Kapihan sa Bagong Pilipinas, DPWH Region 3 Director Roseller Tolentino said the budget for the planned P3.32 billion viaduct, connecting the two flyovers has already been submitted to concerned agencies for funding.
"Project cost is P3.32 billion. Hindi kaya ng isang taon iyan. By 2025, maaring masama na dahil sinubmit na namin iyan dahil urgent ang area na iyan. So hopefully, makapag-release ng pondo sa 2025 para masimulan na iyung project na iyan. It will be a game changer for the City of San Fernando," he said.
"Two or three years ago, we already made feasibility studies. It's a viaduct. It will connect the Dolores Flyover with the Lazatin Flyover. The North and South Rail will be above the viaduct. The detailed engineering and design are complete," added Tolentino.
The design of the proposed viaduct involves 42 spans, 41 piers with two lanes in both directions. It will have auxiliary lanes for the service road ramps on and off the viaduct.
The viaduct will cross under the proposed North-South Commuter Rail Project of the Department of Transportation whose Malolos-Manila and Clark Extension sections are scheduled for completion in June 2025, three years ahead of the railway's total completion in 2028.
Tolentino said it is important to keep both flyovers safe.
"The challenge before us now is huwag ng padaanan ng malalaking trucks especially at night. Ilang beses na kaming naglagay ng barrier diyan, binubunggo. It's critical and unsafe for truck, especially at night. Pag bumagsak iyan ay sama-sama tayong lahat. Pwedeng light vehicles na muna," Tolentino stressed.
To alleviate the heavy traffic at the Dolores intersection caused by flyover's closure to trucks and buses, the City Public Order and Safety Coordinating Office (CPOSCO) of San Fernando on May 17, 2024 tried a scheme using the service road at the side of the flyover heavy trucks and buses heading west to Subic.
But after the trial run from 9 am to 3 pm that day, the CPOSCO rerouted the trucks and buses again via Lazatin Boulevard, clogging the St. Jude junction.
No new scheme, so far, has been devised by authorities to address the traffic along Jose Abad Santos Avenue and MacArthur Highway going north.