Villar: Fourth bridge now in the pipeline

CEBU, Philippines — As construction works for the third bridge connecting the mainland Cebu to Mactan Island officially started yesterday, a fourth bridge linking the two islands is also in the pipeline.

Department of Public Works and Highways Secretary Mark Villar yesterday said that officials of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) are now finalizing the feasibility study and the engineering design of the fourth bridge.

“We are hoping we can finish the feasibility and engineering design by this year para next year makapagsimula na,” he told reporters.

Villar was in Cebu during the launching of the start of construction (piling) works of the Cebu-Cordova Link Expressway yesterday at the South Road Properties.

Initial findings of the preliminary study on the fourth bridge revealed that it would start from Mandaue Coastal Road to Quezon National Highway in Lapu-Lapu City. However, Villar refused to issue further comments on the alignment and cost of the project since the feasibility study is yet to be completed.

He said a JICA study also revealed that there’s a need for the construction of a fourth bridge because of the congestion of the two existing bridges.

“Based sa studies, masyadong congested na ang dalawang bridges at based sa study ng JICA, para mabawasan ang traffic dito sa Cebu,” he said.

Villar said he is hoping that everything will be completed this year so that construction will immediately start next year. He said he is hoping that the fourth bridge will be completed in 2022.

The construction of the fourth bridge can start simultaneously with the ongoing construction of the third bridge because of the demand to resolve Cebu’s traffic congestion problem.

Aside from the fourth bridge, Villar said the 74-kilometer Metro Cebu Expressway project will commence construction this year. It is a P26-billion road project from Naga City in the south to Danao City in the north.

Further, Villar said the department will push through with the road widening before it will implement the 600-meter depression road on United Nations (UN) Avenue, near the Marcelo Fernan Bridge this year.

Villar said the department has several plans and projects to decongest the traffic in Cebu. — FPL (FREEMAN)