Talisay to deploy more traffic enforcers at bridge area

WITH the expected heavy traffic on the Cebu South Coastal Road (CSCR) when the rehabilitation project of Mananga Bridge 3 starts on April 27, the City of Talisay Traffic Operations Development Authority (CCTODA) eyes to augment the number of traffic enforcers deployed in the area.

CCTODA Officer-in-Charge Almond Dela Peña said that the augmentation will be deployed on peak hours when an influx of motorists bound for work or schools in the cities of Cebu and Mandaue are expected during morning rush hours and in the afternoon, as workers and students head home in the south.

Dela Peña added that CCTODAN personnel will also be directed to extend their work hours to ensure that the traffic will be managed well.

He said that since the project will be initiated by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), all the CCTODA can do is to support in manning the traffic on the CSCR and the diversion roads.

He added that the CCTODA already agreed with the initial traffic management plan of DPWH-Cebu Second Engineering District, the project implementator, to close all three of the Cebu City-bound lanes of the bridge.

DPWH-Cebu Second District Engineer Leslie Anthony Molina earlier said that closing all the Cebu City-bound lanes is needed to expedite the repair.
The project will include the replacement of the four expansion joints of the city-bound lanes and two joints of the south-bound lanes.

Molina said he would want the repair on the city-bound lanes to be done by the the third week of May in order to start working on the south-bound portion of the bridge, which he also wanted to be completed before classes begin in June.

While the city-bound lanes are closed, vehicles that are heading to Cebu City will have to share with the three lanes of the south bound portion.

From 6 a.m. to 10 a.m., two of the south-bound lanes will be allocated for city-bound vehicles, since most motorists will be heading to their work in the city.

In the afternoon, only one lane will be given to the city-bound vehicles from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. to give way to the expected influx of vehicles heading to the south.

Cebu Provincial Buses and Minibuses Operators Cooperative Chairman Julieto Flores also recommended that traffic bulletin boards should be installed in sections before reaching the bridge so that motorists will have the option to proceed or head back.

Cebu City Transportation Office (CCTO) Chief Francisco Ouano also expressed their readiness to craft plans to mitigate the impending heavy traffic once the bridge repair would start.