Initial works for SMART underpass set next year

Abellanosa

Initial works for the SMART (Stormwater Management and Rapid Traffic) underpass project in Cebu City may start next year since half of the P700 million cost is already included in next year’s national budget.

“About P376 million out of the P700 million is included in the P2.6 trillion national budget passed by Congress,” Rep. Rodrigo Abellanosa of Cebu City’s south district told Cebu Daily News.

The SMART underpass, Abellanosa’s pet project, will cover 700 meters along N. Bacalso Ave. corner F. Llamas St.

Under the project to be implemented by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), the current four-lane N. Bacalso Ave. will be widened into six lanes with the inner two lanes designated as the underpass.

Abellanosa said there will be underground concrete cisterns which will have a storage capacity equal to 10 Olympic-sized swimming pools.

Feasibility study

“The balance (for the project budget) will be guaranteed by DPWH through MYOA or multi-year obligation agreement. So the project can be bidded out by the central office as soon as possible and implementation can start next year,” he said.

A feasibility study for the underpass project yielded positive results. But this didn’t include the flood control component yet.

Abellanosa said a separate feasibility study will have to be done specifically for it and that DPWH consultants are working on it. This means that the preliminary works that will start next year will only include the road widening and the actual underpass.

Abellanosa said the engineering plans and details of the initial phases of work are still being undertaken.

The cisterns and its locations will be separately addressed by another feasibility study.

Abellanosa said DPWH Secretary Rogelio Singson agreed in choosing Cebu City as the pilot area for the SMART underpass project which is inspired by a similar 9.7-kilometer SMART Tunnel in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.