Third bridge extension being explored?

Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña and officials of Cebu Cordova Link Expressway Corp. (CCLEC) have discussed plans to extend the third bridge project all the way to Mambaling and N. Bacalso Ave.

A possible extension came up when officials of CCLEC met with Osmeña last week to give him updates on the project.

“We’ll make the announcement later on. There will be a mjaor extension of the third bridge, all the way to Mambaling and N. Bacalso Ave. It will go around the SRP. Follow the canal between SRP and the Badjao area; right turn in Mambaling Road; then it will connect with N. Bacalso Ave.,” he said.

The mayor told reporters he is persuading CCLEC to consider the new plan, and that they “were interested” but adjustments would have to be made to realize the planned extension.

On track

In a separate interview, CCLEC president Allan Alfon said that as of the moment, they are just completing the design based on the specifications of the design-and-build contract awarded to the contractors.

“The mayor just wanted to know where we are. We’re confident that we’re still on time toward the schedules we’ve committed to one of our grantors, especially the City of Cebu,” he said.

Actual construction of the bridge is expected to start in June or July.

Once the detailed engineering design (DED) will be completed, it will be submitted to the local government units of Cebu City and Cordova for approval.

The DED will set the structural specifications of the bridge, including its approaches.

The Cebu Link Joint Venture (CLJV), composed of Spain based Acciona SA and Philippines-based First Balfour Inc. and DM Consunji Inc., is the consortium selected to build the 8.5-kilometer expressway that will link mainland Cebu from Cebu City to Cordova town in Mactan Island. CCLEC, a subsidiary company of Metro Pacific Tollways Corp., will manage and operate the bridge once it’s completed.

The Cebu-Cordova Expressway (CCLEX) is worth P22.6 billion but with other expenses to be incurred for the project, CCLEC’s total investment for it is projected to reach P30 billion. It’s supposed to be completed in 2021.

Contractors of the project have begun to put up their construction facilities in the South Road Properties (SRP) after the Cebu City Government allowed them to lease a portion of the reclaimed property.

“It’s mutual. We’ve been discussing this. If you’re coming from N. Bacalso, you can now go straight to Mactan Bridge. It will be an elevated highway,” Osmeña said. This, however, would entail billions of additional expenses, he added.