A resident of Valencia town who commutes from her home to Tagbilaran City, and vice versa, everyday, aired a complaint about the heavy traffic upon approaching Loay’s Clarin Bridge.
Luneta (not her real name) told The Bohol Tribune that she experienced being stuck in traffic on Apr. 1, 2022. She added that this is not the first time that she was caught in a traffic standstill, which according to her estimate could reach as far as Alburquerque town.
Luneta said that she got stuck in traffic for almost an hour. The reason for the standstill, according to her, was the lack of manpower to effectively manage the traffic flow of vehicles passing through the bridge, which is being under construction.
“Usa lang ka lane ang gipaagi-an so ug dagkong sakyanan ang muagi, muhunong gyud ang laing sakyanan mao [nang] mag traffic,” she quipped.
She described the situation as chaotic with only one person tasked to manage the traffic flow for one direction, who according to Luneta is one of the workers of the bridge.
She is asking for more personnel to man the traffic to manage the flow of vehicles effectively. Currently, she said, only one person is managing the traffic going towards Tagbilaran City and another one is handling the flow going to Valencia, Luneta alleged. They are managing a lane where vehicular traffic from both sides pass through.
Luneta lamented the lost opportunities that may come as a result of the traffic standstill.
Luneta added that she is not alone in her gripe as a local official reportedly got stuck in traffic for almost an hour, too.
Additionally, she has heard fellow commuters from Loay and Valencia also complaining about the heavy traffic.
“Wala ra ba nag baligya ug tubig ug pagkaon samtang naghuwat kay na-traffic,” she told The Bohol Tribune.
Moreover, she provided a document to The Bohol Tribune where it was mentioned that a new traffic scheme was implemented starting on Mar. 12, 2022 at the national road beside the project site, which is the Clarin Bridge.
“Due to the construction [of the bridge], a re-routing detour one-lane road is implemented at the poblacion side of the Municipality of Loay which surely caused heavy traffic and inconvenience,” the document says.
The document continues: “Further, since we are using the municipality road (Canipaan-Clarin roads) as our detour, it is advised that Heavy, Long and Trailer Trucks will utilize the LOAY-LOBOC-SIKATUNA roads (vice versa) as alternative routes until the new bridge is passable.”
The document was signed by the project manager Bonifacio Potoy Jr. and dated Mar. 3, 2022.
However, Luneta quipped that she is unsure whether the alternative route is being implemented as she has seen large vehicles still using the national road beside the Clarin Bridge, which has caused heavy traffic.
Luneta bared that she noticed that heavy traffic near the approach of the bridge happens only during the afternoon or when she goes home to Valencia from Tagbilaran City. She is not aware if the heavy traffic also happens at other times of the day.
RESULT OF THE TRAFFIC
Luneta also narrated to The Bohol Tribune that an unknown person tried to rob her room.
Thankfully, the burglar was unable to completely gain access into her empty room.
The would-be burglar fled upon sensing that Luneta’s neighbor has noticed the former tried to gain access into the room by dismantling the slabs of the jalousie windows.
Luneta has already filed a police blotter about the incident. She said a burglar would not have attempted to enter her room via the window if only she arrived home earlier than what happened. The burglar must have noticed her late arrival in her house a reason the former made the attempt to enter her room. Luneta said that she was unable to reach her house early because of the heavy traffic at the Clarin bridge area.
The P465-million Clarin Bridge in Loay is still under construction after the old one was damaged during the 2013 earthquake.
The new Clarin Bridge, according to reports, is around 78 percent finished. The project completion is eyed within 2022.
QUESTIONS
These are the questions the commuters have in relation to the traftic mess:
1.) Why did the contractor or the project engineer not post enough personnel to man the traffic effectively?
2.) Is it true that large vehicles are supposed to be diverted elsewhere? If so, is the diversion scheme being implemented effectively?
3.) Did the contractor or project engineer or the local authorities anticipate the possibility of heavy traffic in the area considering that only one lane is being used?
4.) Are the solutions to solve the problem effective considering there is still heavy traffic during the afternoon rush hour?
5.) Have the authorities considered that in emergency situations, lives could be lost because of the traffic?
These are just some of the questions that need answers from the authorities.