EDITORIAL - CCLEX another Cebu icon in the making

Today will see the opening of the Cebu-Cordova Link Expressway (CCLEX), the bridge linking Cebu City in mainland Cebu to Cordova town in Mactan Island.

This occasion, also scheduled for the 501st anniversary of the Battle of Mactan --another momentous occasion in our history-- is expected to be graced by no less than President Rodrigo Duterte himself.

This won’t be just a bridge that promises to relieve traffic in many parts of the city, link parts of Cebu, or help spur development and tourism; this is also a bridge that will become an iconic image of Cebu.

There are structures that one can immediately associate with a certain place. For instance, the Eiffel Tower for Paris, the Colosseum for Rome, and the Great Wall for China. It just takes just one structure to represent that one place and everything it is known for. And, for people who have been to those places, the images of those structures alone can also bring back memories.

In the national scene, one structure that has always been associated with Cebu is the Magellan’s Cross kiosk, the one on the official seal of Cebu City. Even those who have never visited Cebu are at least familiar with it. If they see it on TV or in postcards, they know that place being referred to is Cebu.

Now this bridge will soon become one of the most iconic symbols of this island. Since it started construction several years ago, the bridge has become more and more visible to many Cebuanos and visitors. It has become noticeable enough that it has become unnoticeable to many people.

Slowly but surely, it became ingrained in their consciousness that it has always been part of the Cebu landscape.

And now that behemoth of a structure, becoming even more storied about what it can do and what it can bring as the years went by, will soon be opened to the public.

That this feat of engineering will soon become one of those places people will immediately associate with Cebu is quite fitting, considering how many people said it could not be done. Aside from its economic benefits, let this bridge also be a symbol of what is possible if enough minds and hands get to work.