Construction of flyover to start within the year

By: Emme Rose Santiagudo

The construction of one of the two flyovers to be built along the Sen. Benigno S. Aquino Jr. Avenue in Mandurriao district is expected to start by November or December 2019.

This was confirmed by Senator Franklin Drilon during his visit in Iloilo last week.

“The biddings will be in middle of October and the construction would be on November and December this year,” he said.

Drilon previously announced the two flyovers, Ungka II and Aganan flyover will be constructed at the intersection of Sen. Benigno Avenue and the Pres. Corazon Aquino Avenue; and the junction of Sen. Benigno Avenue and Felix Gorriceta Jr. Avenue in Pavia, Iloilo.

The two flyovers, with a total budget of P750 million, will have four lanes with lengths ranging from 220 to 260 meters.

Drilon said the construction of the two flyovers will help reduce traffic in the major thoroughfares especially the 10-lane, 15-kilometer Sen. Benigno Avenue which he also initiated and now serves as the main thoroughfare from Iloilo City to the Iloilo International Airport in Cabatuan, Iloilo.

In a separate interview, Public Safety Transportation and Management Office (PSTMO) head Jeck Conlu said that there is already a corresponding fund for the bidding of the flyover at the intersection of Sen. Benigno Avenue and the Pres. Corazon Aquino Avenue.

While the construction of the two flyovers will not be simultaneous, Conlu added that they will be meeting with the local government officials and stakeholders involved for the planning of the traffic scheme upon the instruction of Mayor Jerry Treñas.

“Nag-order na si mayor nga ipatawag ang tanan nga concerned agencies and local government units (LGUs) nga magdihon sang isa ka traffic scheme dira sang area sa intersection sang Pavia nga pagabutangan fly-over,” he said.

In previous interviews, Treñas underscored the need to organize “metro planning” to involve neighboring LGUs of the metro, particularly the Metro Iloilo Guimaras Economic and Development Council (MIGEDC).

“There are common problems that affect us like traffic and solid waste management. The construction stage of the two flyovers will affect all of us so we need to plan,” he said.

Treñas said members of the council already met on September 19, 2019 to discuss the traffic scheme for the construction of the two flyovers in Aganan, Pavia and Ungka, Jaro.

He emphasized that developments in the MIGEDC area which is made up of Guimaras and the towns of Leganes, Zarraga, San Miguel and Oton directly affects Iloilo City.

“We really have to work together because ang pag-develop sang isa ka LGU will affect other LGUs and not only in economic promotion and infrastructure but also disaster resilience,” he said recalling the Iloilo Strait tragedy on August 3, 2019 where ambulances who responded to the area were not enough to accommodate the victims.

Nevertheless, Treñas said that metro planning will help prepare the LGUs as the city and the region develops.

Last September 20, 2019, a P6.7-billion brewery facility of San Miguel Brewery Inc. (SMB) broke ground in Barangay Gua-an, Leganes.

Treñas said the metro can directly benefit from such investments, adding that the metro is open to more investments that would create more employment and economic activities.