The Lahug endpoint of the Guadalupe-Lahug Bypass Road, which, according to DPWH – 7, is expected to start construction in 2021. | Photo Courtesy of Cebu City Councilor Jerry Guardo
CEBU CITY, Philippines – Civil works for the Guadalupe – Lahug Diversion Road is expected to start by 2021.
This developed after the Department of Public Works and Highways in Central Visayas (DPWH – 7) announced that they already secured the funds needed to implement the project’s Detailed Engineering Design (DED) stage.
“For the fiscal year 2020, the funds for the project’s DED was already included in our department’s GAA (General Appropriations Act). This means that we can implement the DED and then after, the actual construction of the project,” Engineer Nonato Paylado, chief of the Planning and Design Division of DPWH – 7, told Cebu Daily News Digital in an interview on Tuesday, January 21, 2020.
Paylado said they are expecting the feasibility study of the project to be completed this year. He added they are aiming to bid out the DED this year, too.
“Once the DED is set this year, we can start the actual civil works by 2021,” he added.
The DPWH – 7 official also said they are now reviewing the draft of the final report of the project that will connect Barangays Lahug and Guadalupe in Cebu City.
The bypass road spans up to two kilometers, and traverses the mountainous terrain of the two barangays. Its cost is pegged at approximately P2.4 billion, and is designed to decongest traffic at Escario Street, Cebu City.
Bumper to bumper traffic along Escario Street, Cebu City is considered to be “normal” in this part of the city, particularly during early morning or afternoon rush hours. | file photo
DPWH has categorized the project as a ‘high-impact infrastructural project’, and will compose of at least two bridges and a ‘mini-underpass’ with a length of around 50 meters.
Initial designs showed that the road will be placed parallel with M. Velez and Escario Streets, which traverses across Barangays Guadalupe and Kamputhaw in uptown Cebu City.
READ MORE: DPWH proposes 2 km diversion road in Cebu City linking Guadalupe and Lahug
“People from different sectors are actually clamoring for the realization of this project especially that there’s no alternative route to Barangay Lahug from Barangay Guadalupe but Escario Street,” said Paylado.
Describing the infrastructure’s design as ‘complex’, Paylado also said this prompted their department to implement the project in phase-by-phase arrangement, with each phase spanning up to at least one year.
“We’re talking about a complex design. It composes of two bridges since it will cross two rivers – the Lahug and Guadalupe Rivers if I’m not mistaken – and an underpass that connects to Gorordo Avenue. In turn, we’re planning to implement it through phase-by-phase with a timeline of at least one year per phase,” Paylado said. /bmjo