1st bridge to be opened to 24/7 two-way traffic

Gov. Hilario Davide III (left with microphone) presides over the Mactan-Cebu Bridge Management Board Meeting which tackled, among others, the developments of the bridge repair work in the old Mandaue-Mactan bridge. (CDN PHOTO/CHRISTIAN MANINGO)

Starting Monday, the old Mandaue-Mactan Bridge will already be open to 24-hour two-way vehicular traffic.

The Department of Public Works and Highways announced this latest bridge repair development during yesterday’s Mactan-Cebu Bridge Management Board (MCBMB) meeting at the Capitol.

Engineer Danilo Pasicaran, DPWH project engineer, said the bridge repairs were completed ahead of schedule.

“We requested the contractor to add more manpower and equipment and work 24/7 so that the work will be shorter,” said Pasicaran.

He said the repairs on the bridge itself were scheduled to be completed on August 29 but the contractor made adjustments and completed the works the other day.

For this weekend, the bridge would still be open to two-way traffic from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. and one lane closed for the contractor to do repairs from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m.

U-turn slot next

Pasicaran said the contractor of the P129-million project, Jegma Construction and Development Corp., would be focusing on the construction of the U-turn slot under the Mandaue City side of the bridge where they would be dealing with the presence of informal settlers in the U-turn slot site.

“They are still not going away since their relocation is still being processed (by the city government), and they haven’t been paid (yet). But we will continue with minor works,” Pasicaran said.

At least 54 structures were earlier identified under the Mandaue City side of the bridge that were supposed to be removed for the U-turn slot.

Pasicaran also said that they would also be doing minor repair work on the bridge sidewalk, which would also not affect bridge traffic.

Mayor’s promise

Mandaue City Mayor Gabriel Luis “Luigi” Quisumbing also assured the bridge board that the city government would do its share of easing traffic on their side of the bridge.

Quisumbing said that they would continue with their intensified apprehension of traffic violators to ensure the free flow of traffic in the area.

He said that their daily traffic apprehension average of 200 increased to 700, resulting in the city running out of traffic citation tickets.

He said more citation tickets were being printed to address this problem.

Cebu Coast Guard Station Commander Agapito Bibat also raised during the meeting that the lights under the bridge, which could aid maritime vessels when under the bridge, were not working.

The DPWH officials said they would look into it.

Bridge lights, cameras

Officials of the Traffic and Security Monitoring System (TSMS), for its part, is asking for more security cameras to be installed on the old Mandaue-Mactan bridge and the newer Marcelo B. Fernan bridge to ensure complete documentation of any traffic incidents on the bridges.

Leo Jim Bacus, TSMS Coordinator, proposed to the bridge board the need to acquire seven new closed-circuit television cameras worth P96,000 each.

Bacus said two of the new cameras would be placed in the old bridge while five others would be at the new bridge.

40 CCTVs

Right now, there are 40 cameras on the two bridges – 17 in the old bridge and 23 in the newer one. Seven of these cameras are also undergoing repair.

Aside from the cameras, the TSMS are also asking for five new wireless radios worth P15,000 each; P45,000 for materials and accessories; and P42,000 for labor and installation budget.
The MCBMB approved the budget proposal of TSMS during their meeting yesterday.