The northbound lane of Natalio Bacalso Avenue in Cebu City will be closed to vehicular traffic starting in the third week of June to allow the construction of phase four of the underpass project.
Project Engineer Roy dela Cruz of the Department of Public Works and Highways in Central Visayas (DPWH-7) said WT Construction Inc., the project contractor, is now on the final stages of implementing phase three on N. Bacalso’s southbound lane.
Phases three and four involve excavation works for the four-lane project to allow the installation of rails for the P638-million underpass.
Dela Cruz said that with the upcoming closure of the northbound lane of N. Bacalso Avenue, vehicles will be diverted to Tagunol and Cabreros Streets on its way to downtown Cebu City.
Southbound vehicles will be redirected to the national highway’s southbound lane, which DPWH-7 will open as soon as they close the other side of the highway.
To make sure that motorists are properly guided of the new road closure scheme, Dela Cruz said they are now coordinating with the Cebu City Transportation Office (CCTO) for the deployment of traffic personnel to manage traffic flow on the affected roads.
Dela Cruz said the entire project that is set for completion in March 2019 is now 70 percent complete and may already be completed ahead of schedule.
“Officially, the entire project is expected to end in March 2019 but we, together with the contractor, planned to finish everything by December this year,” he added.
Construction started in August 2017 and consist of six phases. Each of the phases will take four months to complete.
The congestion which resulted from the closure of the highway’s southbound lane prompted Councilor Dave Tumulak to ask DPWH and WT Construction to implement a 24/7 work schedule.
Dela Cruz said they managed to implement extended work hour of until 11 p.m. for their board piling to avoid from creating unnecessary noise late at night.
He said they only implemented the 24/7 work schedule on concrete pouring which produces very minimal noise.