Road-widening, catch basins sought for Cebu City in 2014
There are no flyovers in the list of projects worth P1.2 billion that were proposed for national funding next year in Cebu City.
Topping the list proposed by two congressmen to the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) are road-widening and improvements in the Banilad-Talamban corridor and water catchment basins in mountain barangays.
The list to be reviewed for inclusion in the country’s 2014 budget was shown in Friday’s meeting of the Cebu City Development Council.
“ This is a welcome development because these (catchments) are what the city needs,” Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama said.
But Rama said he wants the road improvement proposals checked by the city engineering office.
“Probably some of the roads were recentkt asphalted and the proponents want to have them cemented,” Rama told Cebu Daily News.
The mayor has objected in the past when DPWH ripped out new asphalt overlays to replace them with concrete.
Marilyn Ojeda of the DPWH Cebu City District Engineering Office presented the list of P1.2 billion worth of projects during the CCDC meeting last Friday.
There are 14 projects for the city’s north district amounting to P449.2 million and 12 for the south district worth P783 million.
Deferred
Proposals from the DPWH needed to be endorsed by the local development council to the Regional Development Council (RDC) headed by Rama for approval.
With the endorsement of both councils, the projects can be included in the DPWH national office’s list of priority projects for funding in the next annual budget.
For lack of quorum last Friday, the list has to be presented again in the CCDC’s second quarter meeting in June.
In the north district, the biggest expense is for widening four lanes of the Banilad-Talamban-Bacayan-and Pit-os Roads with road right of way that will cost P325 million.
Concreting is proposed for Arellano Boulevard and V. Sotto St. near the port area at a cost of P10 million and P25 million respectively.
Rep. Rachel del Mar of Cebu City’s north district proposed five water impounding areas in the mountain barangays of Pulang Bato, Busay, Budlaan and Adlaon and the dredging of the Subangdaku river.
She also wants a catch basin built near the river’s opening located near the Cebu International Port bridge.
Consultations
Ojeda said water impounding would hold sow down the rush of water from the mountains during heavy rains to prevent flooding of low-lying barangays.
For the south district, Rep. Tomas Osmeña proposed the widening of the N. Bacalso Avenue, which is the city’s south corridor, from the barangay Kinasang-an to the Bulacano bridge into four lanes.
He also wanted Quijada Street widened from the vicinity of the Monterrazas development to V. Rama Avenue so the two-lane road is made into four lanes.
Osmena lives on Quijada Street in barangay Guadalupe.
Osmeña is also proposing the opening of a new road that will connect V. Rama Avenue to Dona Modesta Gaisano Street in Sudlon, Lahug worth P150 million.
The parallel road is expected to decongest Escario Street of traffic. Also proposed in the south district is the widening of C. Padilla Street from T. Padilla to the South Road Properties (SRP) access road worth P140 million.
South district project proposals also include the dredging of the Inayawan River located along barangays Inayawan and Bulacao and a floodwater catch basin in Basak Pardo.
Del Mar’s father, former congressman Raul del Mar said the projects were identified in consultations with north district residents.
“Let’s leave it to DPWH to decide on that (flyovers),” he said.
