Work in progress (CDN PHOTO/JUNJIE MENDOZA)
EXCAVATION work on the 300 meter road line at the University of San Carlos (USC) Talamban campus began yesterday afternoon to kick off the road widening project of the Department of Public Works and Highways along Gov. Cuenco Avenue, Cebu City.
Nido Cenera, who represents the contractor PB Obial, said they hope to finish the road widening by September.
For this week, he said they will excavate and place culverts for the new sidewalk today.
Demolition of the school fence will be done at night to avoid traffic congestion.
“So the students can pass through and there won’t be any problems,” Cenera said.
Barricades
USC architect Marvin Gaerlan said the excavation started at the school’s Gate 3 located at its edge heading to Talamban.
Gate 3 is temporarily closed and will only be opened after the culverts are placed.
A temporary pathway will be provided as the excavation continues going further to Banilad road.
Gaerlan said they instructed the contractor to provide barricades for students to avoid the heavy equipment to be placed there.
The school issued an entry permit to the DPWH to start the road widening project.
Gaerlan said the Cebu City Traffic Operations Management (CITOM) already deployed additional traffic enforcers in the site.
The road widening project is expected to ease traffic along the Banilad-Talamban (BanTal) corridor.
The school offered to yield some space to provide sidewalks for this purpose.
Bunny Pages, co-chairman of the Banilad-Talamban no-left turn experiment implementation, said four other private land owners expressed their willingness to allocate space for the road widening project.
These were Richard Unchuan, lawyer Augusto Go of the University of Cebu (UC), Nanette Avila and the Bright Academy administration managed by Pages.
Pages said anyone affected by the road widening project who’s willing to give some portions of his or her property can approach him.
He told reporters that the DPWH will rightfully compensate for their land use. “We want
landowners to do setback and come out open,” Pages said.
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