PUJs to be given priority along Osmeña Blvd as BRT construction starts

FIRST-DAY BLUES. Cebu City commuters should be ready for scenes like this in the next two to three years with the Bus Rapid Transit construction now in full swing.   CDN Digital photo | Wenilyn Sabalo

CEBU CITY, Philippines — An official of the Cebu City Transportation Office (CCTO) said they minimized rerouting and prioritized public utility jeepneys (PUJ) in their traffic plan for Osmeña Boulevard now that Package 1 of the Cebu Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) implementation has commenced.

Paul Gotiong, division head of the Cebu City Transportation Office’s public mass transportation division, said they divided Osmeña Boulevard into ten small sections with a distance of 160 to 200 meters each to avoid heavy congestion.

With the ongoing construction works for the multi-billion Cebu BRT, Gotiong said that only two lanes will be left for public use.

“There will be no closures in intersections. The first segment they (contractors) are working [on] is between Arlington Pond and Urgello Street,” he told CDN Digital.

“So far, we are ensuring that vehicles will flow at the construction area and placed a maximum speed limit of 20 kilometers per hour,” he added.

He said the CCTO has also asked the contractor to deploy flag men to assist the flow of traffic in the area 24/7, as there will be an expected bottleneck due to the merging of lanes.

The two passable lanes along Osmeña Blvd. are its rightmost right lane going north from downtown Cebu City and its leftmost left lane going downtown Cebu City from the north.

“Then once they finish the [works at the] center [lanes], and move to the sidewalk, we will utilize the center lane to pass while they board up the sidewalk area,” he added.

The contractor of the Cebu BRT Phase !, the Hunnan Road and Bridges Construction Group Companies Ltd. has already fenced a portion of Osmeña Blvd. where the majority of the works for Package 1 is concentrated.

Package 1, which had its ceremonial groundbreaking last Feb. 27, 2023, covers the construction of a 2.38-kilometer Segregated Bus Lane with four bus stations and 1.15 kilometers of pedestrian improvement linked to the Port of Cebu.

It is expected to be fully operational by 2nd quarter of 2025.

The Cebu BRT is one of the national government’s flagship infrastructure projects designed to improve the overall performance of urban passenger transport system in Cebu City.   /rcg

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