Rama pushes third bridge project

CEBU City Mayor Michael Rama is pushing for a third bridge project which he hopes would be implemented before his term ends in 2016.

Rama, who is the Regional Development Council chairman in Central Visayas chairman, said yesterday that he will write President Benigno Aquino III to bring to his attention Cebu’s need for a third bridge.

Rama said that the bridge project for Cebu was already included in the RDC7 list of projects being proposed by development planners in Central Visayas but its funding by the national government was overtaken by the flyover projects.

Rama was referring to the proposed bridge project which would be connect the South Road Properties (SRP) in Cebu City to Cordova town in Mactan Island.

“With the technology that we have now, coming up with a bridge design will not be a problem,” he said.

Rep. Eduardo Gullas (Cebu 1st district) in an earlier interview said that the traffic problems which resulted from the repair of the old Mandaue-Mactan bridge would already show the need for either a new bridge or an underwater tunnel connecting Cordova town with probably Talisay City.

Gullas called on the chief executives who sit in the Metro Cebu Development Council to initiate the initial study for the project which they could use in convincing the National Economic Development Authority, and other funding agencies for the infrastructure need of the project.

Rama said the idea of connecting Cordova town and Cebu City with a bridge had been there as early as 1992.

He said he was surprised when the Marcelo Fernan Bridge was implemented.

RDC members then discussed in a strategic planning the bridge project together with the

Andres Abellana bridge, the transaxial highway proposal of the late Cebu vice governor Greg Sancez and the plan to widen H. Cortes Avenue in Mandaue City and which they submitted to DPWH for prioritization.

“It was just a list of project but there was no actual study conducted,” the mayor said.

“It was just a list of project but there was no actual study conducted,” the mayor said.

However, Rama said that these RDC priority projects were overtaken by the flyover projects being proposed in Cebu City.

He however said that a third bridge connecting Cordova town to SRP could still be pursued./Chief of Reporters Doris C. Bongcac