Tabunok flyover to be closed for 24 hours on March 18-19

CEBU, Philippines - The Talisay City government, in coordination with Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), has agreed yesterday to close the Tabunok flyover only for two days straight on March 18 and 19 for the first phase of its scheduled repair.

“Gihangyo ni sir Eddie (Gullas, Talisay City Mayor) nga trabahoan 24 oras, which nitubag ang DPWH nga ilang buhaton sulud sa duha ka adlaw,” said Almond Dela Peña, head of the City of Talisay Traffic Operations Development Authority (CT-TODA).

“Ang project is scouring and the water proofing of flyover which is kawton ang karaan nga aspalto unya pulihan ug bag-o,” said Dela Peña of the first phase of the repairs.

The second phase, which is the retrofitting of the expansion joints to be completed in two weeks, has yet to be scheduled.

Earlier, the DPWH has set 48 days to complete the rehabilitation from March 18 to May 5, during which the flyover will be closed from 8 p.m. to 4 a.m. daily.

CT-TODA then recommended for the road closure to take effect for the whole day to ensure the safety of motorists.

Since many motorists and public utility vehicles will be affected during the rehabilitation period, Talisay officials headed by Mayor Eduardo Gullas and Dela Peña agreed with DPWH Cebu 2nd District Head Engineer Lesly Anthony Molina that the first phase of repair works will be for only two days straight, round the clock.

DPWH is also hoping for a good weather conditions on March 18 and 19 so it could complete the first phase.

It was reported that the repair works on the bridge will cost P8 million.

Dela Peña said that for the duration of the repairs, all buses coming from Cebu South Bus Terminal (CSBT) must turn left to Mambaling in Cebu City going to SRP and exit in Barangay Lawaan in Talisay City.

Buses from the south going to Cebu City must turn right to SRP, since the alternative road, the underpass, is not designed for buses to pass through.

Meanwhile, operators of bus and mini-bus travelling to southern Cebu did not oppose the idea of their buses going through the SRP once the flyover in Tabunok will be closed for repairs.

This was the statement made yesterday by Julieto Flores, the spokesperson of Cebu Provincial Bus Operators Association and president of the Cebu Mini-Bus Operators Association, following the rerouting proposal of the CSBT for southbound buses while the flyover is being rehabilitated.

"Di mi mo supak ana kung adto mi paagi-on sa SRP kay di man pud pwede mosupak mi sa closure sa Tabunok flyover kay government project man na. Unya kinahanglan na pud gyud ipa-ayo ang flyover for the safety of everyone," said Flores.

Flores also said that they will not ask any fare increase even if it would mean an additional five kilometers should they passed through SRP going to the South Bus Terminal.

"Di lang mi mangayo og fare increase bisan mas layo og adto moagi sa SRP, pero maka-save man ta sa oras kay wa may trapik," Flores adds.

For his part, Cebu City Transportation Office (CCTO) head Rafael Yap said the move to allow buses and mini-buses to pass through SRP does not have a “significant” impact on the traffic situation in the area.

In an interview, Yap said CCTO has no problem recommending to Mayor Tomas Osmeña the approval of the proposal of the CSBT.

“The DPWH Engineering district in-charge of that project has not yet communicated to us for coordination of the traffic impact of the project. The information came from CSBT. For us, given that the reason of the rerouting is due to a government project ra man sad, we don't see any problem with cooperating with that request,” Yap added.

Yap said he wants to establish if there are alternate roads that could be used instead of the SRP, adding that one alternative access could be the side road of the Tabunok flyover.

He also said that CCTO is willing to deploy additional personnel and put up signs along Vestil Road in Barangay Mambaling as it is necessary since the volume of traffic in the area will be much higher than the usual.

“We will also request CSBT to brief drivers to be more conscious of the safety procedures in the maintenance and operations of the vehicles,” he said. — Iris Mariani B.Algabre, Mitchelle L. Palaubsanon, and Jean Marvette A. Demecillo (FREEMAN)