NO U.N. AVE. UNDERPASS WITHOUT EXPANDED ALTERNATE ROAD: DPWH

DPWH Director Constantin Llanes Jr. says they anticipated the traffic so they must come up with a traffic management plan RDC, IDC officials had said that the project was awarded to a Leyte-based contractor without a traffic management plan Llanes was a r

Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Director Constantine Llanes Jr. yesterday said they will not implement the U.N. Ave. Underpass Project in Mandaue City without expanding the alternate road.

Llanes, one of the resource persons of the Philippine Economic Briefing, said the alternate road will connect Plaridel St. in Mandaue City and Cansaga Road in Consolacion, passing under the Marcelo Fernan Bridge.

He was answering the question of Lito Maderazo of the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry if they conducted studies before implementing projects.

“In fact, the feasibility of a project would cover the economic viability of the road, including the environmental impact, and social acceptability. We anticipated the traffic, so we should come up with a traffic management plan,” Llanes said.

Earlier, Regional Development Council Chairman Kenneth Cobonpue and Infrastructure Development Committee Chairman Glenn Soco complained that there was no traffic management plan even after the project was awarded to a Leytebased contractor BM Marketing.

Unnecessary, costly

Cobonpue and Soco said that the six-lane U.N. Ave. will be widened to eight lanes with an underpass in the middle. If that’s the case, they said, there’ll be no need for the underpass, which DPWH DIRECTOR CONSTANTIN LLANES JR., ON THE CONCERNS OF RDC CHAIRMAN KENNETH COBONPUE AND IDC CHAIRMAN GLENN SOCO will be very costly.

Cobonpue and Soco also said that if U.N. Ave. is closed to traffic, Metro Cebu will suffer major economic losses.

However, Llanes said that the underpass will help traffic flow because vehicle going to and coming from Lapu-Lapu City will no longer stop at the red light on the intersection going to Cansaga Bridge.

Llanes said that the DPWH 7 under Director Ador Canlas should present the feasibility study to the IDC and RDC to enlighten officials and for them to recommend something that could improve the project.

“If they will see the feasibility, they may understand which is better, the underpass or the widening. But at this point, since the project was already awarded, DPWH 7 has already done it so that they recommended the underpass,” Llanes said.

He said that to avoid traffic once construction is underway, the roadside expansion must be implemented first.

“We cannot allow the public to suffer without access. So construct first the roadsides at two lanes each so there is still a way where vehicles can pass. That is included in the construction methodology,” Llanes said.

If they will see the feasibility study, they may understand which is better, the underpass or the widening. But at this point, since the project was already awarded, DPWH 7 has already done it so that they recommended the underpass.