To guide travelers, a sign has been installed along the 40-kilometer Dapdap-Paril Road which now links Cebu City directly to the town of Compostela.
CDN PHOTO/MOREXETTE MARIE ERRAM
NORTHERN CEBU
TO address Northern Cebu’s growing traffic problems, the Cebu provincial government will formally open two diversion roads next year aimed to lessen travel time from Cebu City to the towns of Compostela, Catmon and Tuburan in the north.
Spanning about 40 kilometers, the first alternative road, tentatively named Dapdap-Paril Road, directly connects Cebu City to Compostela without passing through Mandaue City, and the towns of Consolacion and Liloan.
Vice Governor Agnes Magpale said that although the road is five kilometers longer than the current Cebu Nautical Highway, it will decongest vehicular traffic in the highway and thus shorten travel time.
“Our aim here is to cut 30 minutes to one hour of travel time. The traffic found in Liloan, Consolacion, and Mandaue City actually causes the travel time to be longer than usual. On our usual route through the highway, it takes at least two hours to arrive at Compostela from Cebu City. But through the diversion road in Paril, it will be lessened to one hour,” explained Magpale.
Capitol reporters were taken to a road test through Dapdap-Paril Road yesterday. Departing from Danao City, northern Cebu, at exactly 1 p.m., the group arrived in Cebu City’s Barangay Talamban at past 2 p.m.
Dapdap-Paril refers to the two mountain barangays which border Compostela and Cebu City, respectively. Barangay Dapdap is the southernmost barangay of Compostela while Paril is the northernmost village of Cebu City.
Though already passable, Magpale said the Dapdap- Paril Road closes at night as lamp posts had yet to be installed along the road.
Also, only portions within the Cebu City government’s jurisdiction had been cemented while most remain as dirt road still undergoing repairs and flood-control measures by the provincial government.
“Within next year, they will start concreting the rest of the road after the repairs on ripraps are done. As of now, it is still a two-lane road but it will be improved further in the future,” she added.
The alternative road is part of Capitol’s Greenway Linkage Road project, along with another 20-kilometer stretch connecting the towns of Catmon and Tuburan which also aims to lessen travel time from one hour to 30 minutes.
Cebu Gov. Hilario Davide III said the provincial government planned to also find ways to address traffic problems in southern Cebu, particularly in Talisay City and Minglanilla. /with USJ-R Intern Patricia Erlaine Luardo