In order to ease traffic congestion for travelers to and from northern Cebu via Mandaue City, center islands will be removed and traffic lights in the middle of the highway will be transferred.
This was what Mandaue City Mayor Jonas Cortes told Gov. Gwen Garcia during a meeting at the Capitol on Monday, March 11, which was also attended by DPWH Sixth Engineering District chief Gumer Castillo and DPWH 7 legal officer Brando Ryan.
Mayor Cortes said the removal of center islands and traffic lights in the middle of MC Briones corner UN Avenue intersection, just in front of the Pacific Mall in Brgy. Maguikay, will allow for additional lanes on both sides of the national road, resulting in smoother traffic flow in the area.
“There are certain mga islands, mga traffic lights nga atong i-relocate. I-relocate para ang volume sa atong traffic sa intersection mapadak-an, mapalapdan nato ang intersection,” Mayor Cortes told Sugbo News.
Currently, MC Briones leading to Consolacion only has two lanes on each side of the road. Mayor Cortes hopes that with the adjustment, as well as the utilization of underutilized roads adjacent to MC Briones, improvement will be felt by motorists who are plying the said road.
ASPHALTING PROJECTS
Meanwhile, Engr. Castillo said DPWH Sixth Engineering District will implement asphalt overlay for road projects in Mandaue City in order to expedite their completion, pursuant to a resolution passed by the Provincial Development Council (PDC) on March 6.
The PDC, chaired by Gov. Garcia, adopted the resolution strongly urging DPWH doing projects in Cebu to modify project plans, opting for asphalt overlay over concreting, especially for roads deemed to be in good condition, in order to optimize resources and streamline road maintenance efforts.
DPWH has several asphalting projects lined up along the Central Nautical Highway in Mandaue City, starting from Barangays Tipolo and Jagobiao down to nearby Consolacion town.
Mayor Cortes welcomed this move by Engr. Castillo as asphalt overlay work is faster compared to the concreting projects.
“Mao sad nay tuyo nato nga mga projects nga dali mahuman kay tungod ang Mandaue is the corridor of Metro Cebu,” Mayor Cortes said. “We cannot afford to implement projects nga tagdugay kaayo, tagpila ka buwan, kay you know negosyo ang panginabuhi sa atong mga kaigsuonan sa ilang trabaho. Dili ta ka afford nga ang Mandaue mao nay chokepoint sa Metro Cebu sa trapiko,” he added. | Babie Jane Revecoy