Drainage project in Mabolo now ahead of timeline

Large concrete culverts are on standby on L. Tudtud Street, Barangay Mabolo, Cebu City in preparation for the road repair in this photo taken last April 16, 2016.
CDN file PHOTO

The contractor is fast-tracking the completion of the drainage project along Pope John Paul II Avenue (formerly Juan Luna Avenue) in Barangay Mabolo, Cebu City.

This was said by the Cebu City Transportation Office (CCTO) Operations Chief Francisco Ouano based on their talks with the officials of Pragmatic Construction, which is undertaking the project being funded by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) 7.

“We have talked with the contractor, and based on the study that they showed, they are already advance in their timeline for the project. They are already fast-tracking the completion. They also want the project to be finished already,” said Ouano.

The 1.2-kilometer drainage project was started in September last year and is expected to be finished in the latter half of this year.

The project involves excavating and putting culverts on the side of the road where vehicles from SM City Cebu going to Cebu IT Park pass.

It starts at the area across the Mabolo Elementary School and will end at the corner of F. Cabahug St.

Right now, the contractor has started excavating at the portion of the road at the corner of S. Cabahug St., across the Carmelite Monastery.

In order to mitigate the traffic impact with the road closure in this portion, the CCTO has opened the other side of the road to two-way traffic starting last Friday.

“We opened it to two-lane traffic so that at least Pope John Paul II Ave. is passable. Although there is still traffic, at least the area is passable,” Ouano said.

Public utility jeepneys with route number 04L plying from SM to IT Park and Lahug can also pass through the road. During the previous phases of the project, these PUJs had to go through interior roads.

Ouano said he was told by the contractor that it would take around two months for them to finish this portion of the project.

Afterwards, they will then proceed to the next portion which will already be near the end of the project.

Earlier this month, Cebu City Vice Mayor Edgardo Labella, who was the acting mayor, wrote a letter to the DPWH asking them to expedite the project.

He said several concerned citizens have already approached his office to express their dismay on the “seemingly snail-paced” rehabilitation of the road.

Aside from the discomfort it causes on commuters and motorists, he said it has also affected businesses in the area as fewer people visit establishments there due to the road closures.