Sapangdaku quarry may delay footbridge project

Toledo City officials want to stop the construction of a footbridge connecting barangays Cambang-ug and Magdugo over the Sapangdaku River.

City Councilor Alfonso Mercado said there may be a need relocate the footbridge because the present location is vulnerable to floods and affected by an ongoing river rechanneling project.

Mercado said that while they understand the need of Cambang-ug residents for access across the river, the council also wants the rechanneling project of the Cebu provincial government to be completed.

“We understand barangay Captain Epifanio Panugan’s concernthat his constituents cannot cross the river when the rainy season comes. That is why he is fast- tracking the construction of the footbridge”, he said.

“The win-win solution suggested by Vice Mayor Arlene Zambo is for the local government to fund the footbridge in a new and safer location, he told CEBU DAILY NEWS.

Mercado said he fears the present location of the footbridge is vulnerable to floods because it is near ongoing quarrying of river deposits as part of re-channeling of the Sapangdaku River.

Typhoon Ramon last year destroyed the 20-year-old Cambangug-Magdugo footbridge donated by Atlas Mining Company.

The barangay captain told CDN P2 million has to be allocated for the concrete foot bridge from the barangay budget.

Three private operators were allowed by the Capitol to haul sand and gravel from the Sapangdaku River in exchange for the free use of their heavy equipment in the rechannelling project.

In exchange, the private operators can haul sand and gravel from the river and sell it, according to Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Officer (Penro) Nerces Bispo.

A construction boom in Metro Cebu has increased the demand for aggregates which sell for P1,400 per cubic meter.

Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia is scheduled to visit the site on May 22.