Motorists will have to bear with traffic problems as completion of roadworks in Mandaue City will be further delayed because of Cebu’s hosting of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit and the Ironman Triathlon in August.
The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH-7) ordered the stoppage of the roadworks on A.C. Cortes St., Plaridel St., UN Ave., Ouano Ave. going to Radisson Blu Hotel, A.S. Fortuna and M.L. Quezon St. in Mandaue City in preparation for the two big events.
Engr. Renult Ricardo, OIC assistant district engineer of DPWH 6th Engineering District, said the stoppage order took effect yesterday and lasts until the end of the summit which they expect to be on September. This means the completion of the projects will be delayed by three months.
He said he notified the contractors to suspend ongoing excavations and pavement works along the summit route and clear the roads of all debris.
Engr. Rachel Lumapas of DPWH-7 said they have two drainage projects in Mandaue City which they target to finish this year.
These are the drainage projects to control flooding on A.S. Fortuna St. and another in barangay Canduman.
The drainage project on A.S. Fortuna St. was scheduled to be completed last year but because of problems like delays in the delivery of materials, the project is still ongoing.
Architect Florentino Nimor, head of the City Planning and Development Office, suggested to the DPWH to implement 24-hour work schedules on the projects so they can finish on time.
Ricardo replied they will look into Nimor’s proposal.
Ricardo said they are implementing a 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. and 9 p.m. to 4 a.m. shifts which are aimed at minimizing road congestion. They are closely coordinating with the Traffic Enforcement Agency of Mandaue (TEAM) for traffic management.
In a related development, the Police Regional Office (PRO-7) is now finalizing the security measures to be put in place for the hosting of the APEC meetings in Cebu.
“We already have conferences in relation to APEC with the civil defense office, management seminar on the hotel venues like in Radisson Blue and Marco Polo and the national organizing team have already checked with the venues,” PRO-7 regional director Chief Supt. Prudencio Bañas said.
He is also asking the public to cooperate and be patient as traffic problems and stricter security in malls are expected during the event.
“There would be a lot of inconvenience to the citizens but we should help each other for it to be successful since we are trying to showcase the Queen City of the South. Once you take advantage of them (guests), that will be the impression they will bring to their countries [a bad review],” he added.
The PRO regional office in Eastern Visayas will send 1,000 to 2,000 police personnel to augment the police force in Central Visayas.
“We are following the requirements and template of APEC, not the police. This template is followed by nations holding the meeting. We try to comply, if not, we try to improvise and request from the national organizing committee,” Bañas said.