Mandaue roadworks stalled to pave way for big events

CEBU, Philippines - After considering that the road concreting works on Soriano and Plaridel Streets in Mandaue City will likely result to further traffic congestion, the Department of Public Works and Highways wants to postpone the projects.

Earlier, DPWH officials said they were supposed to start the projects within this month but they were delayed after Mayor Jonas Cortes, who went out of town for an official business, asked them to wait until he has discussed the plans with concerned department heads.

Cortes was back from Manila this week and during their meeting, City Planning Development Coordinator Florentino Nimor said "the mayor had decided firmly" on delaying the projects due to many reasons.

Nimor said the streets, especially Plaridel, become busy during the holiday season, and more so during Sinulog in January.

Also in January, the city will take part in the International Eucharistic Congress events, one of which is that at least 5,000 young people will walk from Lapu-Lapu City to Mandaue.

Nimor said even on regular days, these streets are experiencing traffic.

He said if DPWH goes ahead with its plan, the city will be forced to close one road and make the other one a two-way lane, which can likely cause traffic congestion.

Nimor said since contractor PB Obial Construction has promised to finish the project in six months, instead of 10 months as stated in the contract, they can still complete it within the August deadline if they start in March.

He said the city will be ready to have the project by March, assuming PB Obial makes true its promise to complete it by August.

Based on their meeting with DPWH, Nimor said they were told that the agency is hesitant to allow this to happen, as they said they will be answerable to their central Office if the projects are delayed.

Nimor said they can ask the City Council to approve a resolution appealing to DPWH to move the start of the project at a later date.

The CPDC head said they are still waiting for the response of DPWH to know if it is agreeable to their plans. (FREEMAN)