THE Mandaue City government has allocated P40 million for the road concreting with drainage system project on J.O. Martinez St. in Brgy. Looc, Mandaue City, particularly the access road beside the University of Cebu Lapu-Lapu-Mandaue campus.
John Eddu Ibañez, executive secretary of Mandaue City Mayor Jonas Cortes, said this access road is muddy and swampy, and most of the vehicles that pass through it are trucks.
Due to the wet ground, the trucks passing through the access road get muddy tires.
After going out of the access road, the trucks ply A.C. Cortes Ave. and spread mud on the street.
The mud then dries and turns into thick dust along the road.
It has become a problem not only for the residents in the area but also for motorists.
In February 2021, the Traffic Enforcement Agency of Mandaue (Team) intensified its implementation of Section 2 of City Ordinance 14-12017-1223, prohibiting trucks or any vehicle to travel to the city with muddy tires. One of the streets with thick dust is A.C. Cortes.
Ibañez said for the longest time, the road has not been renovated as it is owned by a private entity.
Cortes convened with the owner to discuss this problem and in late 2019, the owners donated the road to the city, said Ibañez.
After this, Ibañez said the City included the road concreting and drainage rehabilitation of J.O. Martinez St. in the 2020 annual budget.
The contractor of the project promised to finish the road concreting and drainage rehabilitation within 2021, said Ibañez.
After the road is rehabilitated, Ibañez said the City will clean the thick dust along A.C. Cortes Ave. from the foot of the Mandaue-Lapu-Lapu bridge (first bridge).
Meanwhile, Cortes has visited and assessed the city’s priority infrastructure completed projects, which are included in the 2019 and 2020 annual budget.
One project is the 12 modular classrooms of the Mandaue City College (MCC) Annex building located at the back of the Mandaue City Cultural and Sports Complex.
These modular classrooms, called such because they are movable, were built to improve the facilities of the MCC.
Ibañez said the City plans to transfer these modular classrooms to the Mandaue City College Technological and Entrepreneurial Skills Training (MCCTEST) building beside the Mandaue City Jail.
In case the quarantine status gets lifted and face-to-face classes resume, Ibañez said each modular classroom can comply with the new normal setup of one meter apart and still accommodate up to 25 students.
The City allocated P29.5 million for this project, the construction of which started in March 2020 and was completed in August.
Cortes also visited J.M. Ceniza St. in Sitio Superior, Brgy. Looc, Mandaue City and the access road beside the Mandaue City Hospital, a road which was formerly flooded and swampy. Now, it is concreted over and has a drainage system.
Ibañez said the residents told them that several rain showers had passed and yet they had not experienced flooding, unlike before it was rehabilitated.
The City finished the construction of this road in October 2020, allocating P34 million for it and P15.5 million for the access road beside the Mandaue City Hospital. (KFD)