TRAFFIC JAM. A tricycle is caught in between bigger vehicles at a busy intersection in Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental province in this undated photo. The city government is targeting the completion of two new bridges in the outskirts of barangays by December 2024 to ease traffic woes. (PNA file photo by Mary Judaline Flores Partlow)
DUMAGUETE CITY – Two new bridges in this Negros Oriental provincial capital that are up for completion in December will decongest the city’s traffic, the mayor here said Tuesday.
Mayor Felipe Antonio Remollo’s assurance came in the wake of traffic woes in the capital, especially during the past several days, when the 123rd Founders Day of Silliman University was in full swing.
“These (new) bridges traversing Banica River are a big help to regulate and ease traffic, especially in the población area where people going to the outskirts no longer need to pass through the city proper,” Remollo said.
The new bridges, currently under construction, connect the villages of Balugo and Candauay with a PHP25.9 million funding, and the one traversing barangays Junob and Batinguel amounting to PHP21.4 million.
He added another bridge project connecting barangays Taclobo and Tabuc-tubig is being proposed for approval by the city council, with funding of PHP30 million.
Meanwhile, Remollo expressed optimism that the proposed PHP70-million traffic lights system for the city will materialize this year.
He said the city has been pushing for a lease-to-own arrangement for over five years, but the project bidding has yet to be conducted.
Another plan to ease traffic congestion here is to relocate government offices to city government-owned land on the outskirt barangays.
“These may not be a cure-all, but they offer a comprehensive solution to our traffic problems,” Remollo said. (PNA)
