Construction of Cebu City’s Second Php 750-M Tunnel to Start Within This Year – Abellanosa

Rep. Rodrigo Abellanosa (Cebu City, south district) has said the construction the city’s second tunnel will push through within the year.

Abellanosa, who was reelected in the last elections, said the detailed engineering design of the Php 750-million tunnel has been completed and construction is expected to start three months from now, after all of the requirements are met.

“The project will push through. We’re just waiting for the contractor to start the project,” Abellanosa said.

The proposed tunnel is a two-lane, 700-meter-long facility, which is expected to help ease traffic on N. Bacalso Ave.

It will start at the intersection of N. Bacalso Ave. and F. Llamas St.

N. Bacalso Ave. is a usually busy highway that serves motorists not only in the southern barangays of Cebu City but as well as those going to and from southern towns of Cebu.

The new project will be a Stormwater Management and Road Tunnel (Smart), patterned after the one in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, which Abellanosa believes will also help solve the south district’s flooding problem.

Last year, outgoing Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama opposed implementation of the project and ordered the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to put it on hold, saying he wanted the nearby roads to be widened first.

Rama was referring to Sabellano St. and Tagunol Road leading to Jaca St., which are often congested. (PNA) RMA/EB/SSC