S. Osmeña Road traffic ‘slow but manageable’
BUMPER TO BUMPER. Traffic along S. Osmena Road has been slowed-down by on-going repairs. (CDN PHOTO/ TONEE DESPOJO)
Vehicular traffic was slow but manageable on the first day of the partial closure of the 900-meter portion of S. Osmeña Road in the North Reclamation Area of Cebu City.
“Most of the congestion was in the entrance and exit points near the construction area, but it’s still moving traffic,” said Cebu City Traffic Operations Management (Citom) operations chief Joy Tumulak.
Vehicles were rerouted around the affected area.
The north-bound lane of the S. Osmeña Road undergoing repair was closed from the corner of Gen. Maxilom Extension, near the gate of Pier 4 up to the corner of Juan Luna Extension near Radisson Blu hotel.
Heavy congestion was observed past 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. at Baclig Street (Port Service Road) where northbound traffic was diverted.
Vehicles going to and coming out of the Qimonda IT Center , which now houses the Cebu City court offices, also contributed to the heavy traffic.
However, some drivers of public utility vehicles were confused and failed to reach the terminal in SM City.
With 20 Citom personnel fielded in shifts to man traffic in nine intersections, Tumulak said traffic wa “very manageable.”
He saidhe expects passenger jeepney drivers to adapt to the new route by today.
SLOWER NORTHBOUND
Taxi drivers worry that the slow traffic would reduce their earnings.
“Every hour we need to target more than three passengers but because we are trapped in traffic, we are expecting to have only one passenger in an hour,” saidAlexander Villarba, 51.
When there is a heavy traffic he said he spends more than P1,000 a day for gasoline alone and brings home P500.
When road travel is smooth, he spends less than P1,000 a day for gasoline and earns P500 to P800.
Villarba said he still has to pay P890 a day to the taxi owner as rental and only has 14 hours a day to drive.
Cebu Daily News took a taxi from Mandaue City Hall to Plaza Independencia around 9 a.m. via Ouano Avenue in Mandaue City and S. Osmeña Road in Cebu City side.
The road travel took 20 minutes or almost twice the “normal” time.
During light traffic conditions, the four-kilometer route can be covered in 10 to 15 minutes, said Villarba.
Heading back from Plaza Independencia to the Mandaue City Hall on the same route took longer at 40 minutes.
Traffic was moving very slow in the Baclig Street (Port Service Road), the alternative route for northbound traffic.
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