CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY, April 1 (PNA) -- The
Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) needs an additional P500 million
for the completion of the P 1.5-billion Cagayan de Oro Coastal
Superhighway
project, Rep. Rufus Rodriguez said on Tuesday.
Rodriguez said the 1.4-kilometer coastal road
from the village of Puntod to the coastal village of Gusa, in the city’s east
coast, is now almost complete.
He said that he has filed a bill in Congress
under House Bill No. 4232 for the appropriation of the P500 million for the
completion of the Cagayan de Oro’s coastal superhighway.
In the proposed bill, Rodriguez explained that
the five provinces and two cities in Northern Mindanao would also benefit from
the P815 million Cagayan de Oro 3rd Bridge and Access Road project and the
Cagayan de Oro Coastal Super Highway Project.
He said that when completed, the coastal
superhighway would serve as an alternate route entry in the city’s west and
east coast areas.
The completion of the coastal superhighway
would reduce vehicular traffic, especially along the major highway leading to
the Port of Cagayan de Oro, thereby enhancing socioeconomic activities in the
area, Rodriguez said.
The coastal superhighway, involves the
construction of a 352-linear-meter long, four-lane pre-stressed concrete bridge
with 11 spans and the concreting of 8.46 kilometers of a four-lane road
pavement along the coastal route with an island in the center which will act as
a sea wall.
The first phase of the Coastal Superhighway
project was the reclamation of the land from the sea, which was followed by the
construction of the road that connected Macabalan, Puntod, Lapasan and Gusa,
all barangays of the city’s northeastern coast.
This highway is expected to decongest traffic
in the main highway (C.M. Recto) because vehicles from and to Bukidnon and
Butuan will no longer need to enter the city, but may now use the coastal road
to go to the pier area or even proceed to the western part of the city and on
to Iligan City, Rodriguez said.
He said a coastal boulevard like the Roxas
Boulevard in Metro Manila where people can also roam and enjoy the breeze from
the sea was also part of the coastal superhighway’s design.
Rodriguez said DPWH engineers had scheduled the
completion of the project in 2010. However, the economic downturn and the
increase in the prices of materials and supplies have delayed the completion of
the project.
He said that the request
for additional funding of P500 million was necessary to meet the scheduled for
completion in 2015. (PNA)
JBP/CD/AIDA RAUT/UTB
JBP/CD/AIDA RAUT/UTB
