The Pope John Paul II Avenue in Cebu City will be closed to traffic on Nov. 23, a Monday, for a dry run of rerouting for the International Eucharistic Congress in January.
About 15,000 delegates are expected to attend the religious gathering on Jan. 24 to 31, 2016.
“During the congress, there will be normal work and perhaps classes so we want to see the setting through a dry run,” said Cebu Auxiliary Bishop Dennis Villarojo, secretary general of the IEC 2016.
Pope John Paull II Avenue in barangay Mabolo will be closed for traffic for a dry run of rerouting on Nov. 23, a Monday, in preparation for the International Eucharistic Congress in January next year.
The main congress venue, a brand-new Eucharistic Pavilion, is located within the seminary compound in barangay Mabolo, whose main thoroughfare in Pope John Paul II Avenue is a traffic chokepoint.
Villarojo said they want to observe how motorists and commuters respond to rerouting changes.
“We’re now in the stage of conducting dry runs, including traffic. We have to inform the general public about it so they won’t be caught by surprise,” Villarojo told reporters.
He said they chose a Monday, a peak day of the week, to check the impact of the rerouting to be conducted by the Cebu City Traffic Office.
On Nov. 21, the Pavilion will be turned over by Duros Development Construction (DDC) to the Archdiocese of Cebu. On Nov. 22, the venue will be full of parishioners for Mass to celebrate The Solemnity of Christ the King.