CSCR tunnel to partially close

CEBU, Philippines — Only a portion of the Cebu South Coastal Road (CSCR) tunnel will be partially closed to traffic after the Palarong Pambansa 2024 for repairs, Cebu City Transportation Office (CCTO) Assistant Head Kent Jongoy said yesterday.

“I would just like to make a clarification, dili siya entire closure kay nahimo na ra ba ning primary road ang atong SRP…We will only be closing just a portion of the whole tunnel,” he said.

“There will be a portion, north and south bounds nato sa SRP tunnel, duha man na siya ka lanes per bounds, so ang outer-most lane niya ang atong sirad-an but the inner most lane will be open for the motorists,” he added.

Jongoy said it is important for the public to be informed of this as this would definitely be a cause of headache to many, especially those regularly using the said tunnel.

This development is an off-shoot of an ocular inspection made by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Maintenance Division headed by Engr. Jun Dela Cruz, the Traffic Management Council Board, and the contractor supposedly for the improvement of lighting in the said tunnel.

At first, the group recommended the replacement of lights to make the area brighter, which could only take a week, as only 30 to 40 percent of the existing lights were said to be functional, but the inspection led to the discovery of more problems.

“When they checked, there is not just busted lights but there’s a problem with the wirings in the whole stretch, so madugay-dugayan gyud na diha,” Jongoy said, while also saying that there were hairline cracks that needed repair.

The TMC Board, the DPWH Maintenance Division, and the contractor decided for a six to seven months “temporary but partial closure of the SRP tunnel”, which would begin either on July 17 or 18, or right after the Palarong Pambansa.

Concerning the partial closure, Jonggoy shared that they are looking at the possibility of opening the inner-most lanes for trucks.

“Kanang mga trailers kay limited man gud atong road space…. If we have motorcycles, sedans, kaning mga gagmay nga mga sakyanan, they tend to go swerving, changing of lanes, and kon ing-ana ang conditions sa atong SRP tunnel, with the scaffoldings on both sides, dako ug possibility nga nay maaksidente na nuon,” he said.

Meanwhile, concerning the hairline cracks, the Technical Infrastructure Committee, which include DPWH, had said that it is common and normal.

“I’m not an engineer but I give full salig gyud ta ani niya kay sila may DPWH. They said it's just hairline cracks and it can be repaired…mao ni ang reason nga masirad-an ug taas-taas ang tunnel …Ang pagtaud sa suga dali ra kuno, it can be done within one week or less, but ang hairline cracks ang mataudtauran gyud kuno,” he said.

Back in 2018, there had also been some expression of concern about the hairline cracks at the said tunnel, to which DPWH said there is nothing to worry about.

The construction of the tunnel on Sergio Osmeña Blvd. began on June 28, 2006 and when the tunnel project was completed on October 20, 2010, Kajima Corporation, the contractor, reportedly applied epoxy to the cracks as a curative measure. —/RHM (FREEMAN)