With the start of the construction of the third bridge linking mainland Cebu to Mactan Island, a fourth bridge is now being planned and is expected to be operational in five years.
FOURTH BRIDGE
Four possible locations for the fourth bridge that would connect mainland Cebu to Lapu-Lapu City are now being considered as discussions begin on the Master Plan and Institutional Development on Urban Transport System in Metro Cebu presented by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica).
During a closed-door meeting at an uptown hotel yesterday, Jica representatives, officials from the Department of Transportation (DOTr) and other government agencies, discussed the Jica Master Plan and the necessary infrastructure projects that need immediate implementation in order to cope with the traffic demands of the metropolis.
Based on the Jica Master Plan Study obtained by Cebu Daily News from one of the participants who begged off from being named, a preliminary study has already been conducted for the construction of the third bridge due to its urgency.
“Heavy traffic congestion on the existing first and second Mactan Bridges is observed daily due to the population growth and increasing airport passengers generated by booming Cebu’s industry and tourism. It is clear that this situation will be more serious if no transport capacity between Cebu mainland and Mactan Island is timely expanded,” read the project background of the preliminary study on the fourth bridge.
The preliminary study also compared four possible locations for the fourth bridge.
Route Locations
The first route eyed will be a two-kilometer bridge that will connect the coastal area of Consolacion town and the northern side of the Mactan Export Processing Zone I (Mepz-1).
This is the longest among the four routes and has an estimated construction cost of P12 billion.
The second route eyes a bridge that would stretch from the Mandaue City Coastal Road and the southern side of Mepz-1.
This bridge will be 720 meters long and would need over P7 billion to be realized.
The third location being studied for the fourth bridge is at the Mandaue Coastal Road traversing 640 kilometers to the National Highway near the Mactan-Cebu International Airport.
This is the shortest route and the cheapest to build at P6.9 billion.
The fourth route being studied is from Ouano Avenue, traversing 1.2 kilometers across the sea waters of Cebu up to Poblacion, Lapu-Lapu in Lapu-Lapu city.
The comparative analysis on the fourth bridge identified the third route as the most appropriate one to use in the implementation.
Time line
Based on the time line presented in the preliminary study, the feasibility study can be conducted on the last quarter of 2018 and finished before the fourth quarter of 2019.
The detailed engineering design will immediately follow and is expected to be completed by the end of 2020.
The construction phase may start in January 2021 and would be fully operational by mid of 2023.
Cebu Provincial Gov. Hilario Davide III is hopeful that the planned fourth bridge will materialize and ease traffic congestion experienced in Metro Cebu.
“Maayo kaayo na. Malipay ta ana kon madayon na. Dako kaayo nag matabang sa pag decongest sa traffic,” he told reporters yesterday (Friday).
(That is very good. We will be happy if the project will push through because it will be a big help in decongesting traffic.)
“It all boils down sa traffic. Mao man gyod nay problema (That is the problem). That is why we need more bridges,” the governor added.
Forecast
The demand forecast included in the Jica preliminary study showed about 190,000 vehicles will be plying the three bridges by 2030.
At present, there are two bridges, the Mactan–Mandaue Bridge and Marcelo Fernan Bridge, linking mainland Cebu and Mactan Island.
The Cebu-Cordova Link Expressway (CCLEX), the third bridge connecting Mactan Island to Cebu mainland started construction last Thursday.
If the fourth bridge will not be realized, the traffic volume will be spread to the three bridges which has a combined capacity of 118,800 vehicles per day.