No final traffic management plan yet for tri-level project

A perspective of the proposed tri-level pass at UN Avenue in Mandaue City. COUTESY DPWH-7

A final traffic management plan is yet to be completed for the construction of an underpass along UN Ave., but the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) has assured that at least four lanes of road will be available when the project starts.

DPWH-7 planning division head Engr. Nonato Paylado said that when construction starts on the four-lane UN Ave., another four lanes of road – two-lane service roads on each side — will be available for motorists to use.

Speaking at the general membership meeting of the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) at Summit Galleria Hotel yesterday afternoon, Paylado revealed that the P711.8 million underpass project actually includes widening the existing road to make it eight lanes.

The actual underpass or depressed structure, which will be 602 meters long, will have four lanes. But on each side, there will be two lanes of service road. It will be located near the intersection of UN Ave. and Plaridel St.

“We will be clearing the area there. Once it (service roads) will be opened, we are ready to construct the depressed structure,” Paylado said.

He clarified that the first construction for the project will be the service roads and not the actual depressed structure.

The underpass is the first component of the tri-level pass along UN Ave. The DPWH secured a P500 million budget in the 2016 general appropriations act (GAA) and another P446 million in the 2017 GAA to fund the underpass component.

The project was awarded to B.M. Marketing for P711.8 million. The contract officially started last December 8, 2017 and is expected to be completed by June 4, 2020, covering a total of 910 calendar days.

Paylado explained that the current contract is actually not yet for the entire tri-level pass project but is only for the underpass and the road right of way (RROW) acquisition for the additional service roads.

The flyover component of the project, which will start after the Marcelo Fernan bridge going left to Plaridel St., will have to be finalized and be covered by another budget which they are yet to request.

Traffic plan

The contract for the project is under a design-and-build scheme which means the winning contractor will be the one to undertake the surveys, design, planning, preparation and quantifications for the project.

Right now, Paylado said the contractor has completed the parcellary survey for the project and is now preparing the parcellary plan which will identify the total area of lots that will be affected by the project, specifically for the service roads.

The plan will also guide the DPWH in the RROW acquisition.

The final design is expected to be finished by June. After which, it will have to be approved by the DPWH-7 before the contractor can start actual construction.

At the same time, he said the contractor is also finalizing the traffic management plan for the project which, Paylado assured, will be promptly presented for consultations with stakeholders.

“We assure that before we will start actual project construction, we will be adopting a traffic management plan that will be acceptable to all sectors,” he said while specifically citing parties like the local government units of Mandaue City and Lapu-Lapu City, the Mactan Cebu International Airport Authority (MCIAA), and the Mactan Export Processing Zone (MEPZ) locators, among others.

Expedite

During the CCCI meeting, some members raised concerns on the work schedule of the project hoping for it to be finished earlier.

Paylado said that the 910-day contract takes into consideration the contractor who will be working for two shifts or around 16 hours a day. But he added that they will try to negotiate with the contractor for them to do the work 24 hours a day.

He said though that there are other external factors that may affect the project duration like weather disturbances.

Sought for comment, CCCI President Melanie Ng said they hope to be able to keep updated on the developments of the project.

“This development is really necessary for us but there is just an inconvenience. So it’s also important that other than the traffic management plan, we also like to know how they will expedite the project,” she added.