Cebu PB wants updates on Metro Cebu Expressway

Cebu City, Philippines—Members of the Cebu Provincial Board have invited officials of the Department of Public Works and Highways in Central Visayas to appear during their June 21 regular session to discuss updates on the implementation of the Metro Cebu Expressway project.

This after the Provincial Board learned that there may be changes in the timeline of the said project, which also known as the Cebu Circumferential Road.

READ: ‘New plans’ for Metro Cebu Expressway may hit 300 houses in Mingla

In his approved resolution, Provincial Board Member Glenn Anthony Soco asked the DPWH to fast track the implementation of the 73.749-kilometer expressway that will start from Danao City in the north to Naga City in the south.

Soco said that they were expecting the project to be completed this year, considering that it has already been three years since construction started.

“We were expecting 2021.  However, there may be changes, the reason why we want to be updated,” he said.

Soco cited that with the quarantine guidelines due to the COVID-19 pandemic, where controlled travel and transport, as well as restricted movement among the citizens were imposed by the government, it is an opportune time to speed up the completion of the project.

“It is therefore expected that DPWH may further the project with ease and haste, to complete it in time or perhaps ahead than planned,” the resolution read.

The Metro Cebu Expressway is said to be a standard arterial road primarily aimed to meet Metro Cebu’s existing and future traffic demand.

“The completion of the project shall primarily address traffic congestion especially in the core business districts of Cebu, urban areas and major cities. In the same vein, the project shall effectively promote rural land use and the proper use of land-use master plans of the different local government units. It shall exceptionally promote vehicle cost savings and shorten travel/road time for motorists,” the resolution further read.

/bmjo