DAVAO CITY (MindaNews) – The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) is set to open Mindanao’s longest flyover to motorists in October, four years after construction works began, Tagum City Mayor Allan Rellon said.
The 1.6-kilometer flyover along Tagum’s Daang Maharlika National Highway costs P2.7 billion.
Rellon told the Davao City Disaster Radio that the DPWH informed him that the flyover would be passable to vehicles by the last quarter in preparation for the planned rerouting of vehicles to pave the way for the completion of concreting of the highway below it.
He said the vehicles will be redirected to the flyover as some portions of the six-lane highway (three lanes in each direction) will be paved.
“It’s really intended to complete the upper portion first. There will be rerouting of vehicles so that they can focus on working on the pavements below. Of the six lanes, I think only two lanes are paved,” he said.
He added that they expect the full competition of the project by the first quarter of 2022.
Aside from the flyover, another big-ticket project that is expected to begin “partial operations in the first quarter of next year” is the 15-kilometer portion between Tagum and Carmen in Davao del Norte of the 102-kilometer Tagum City-Davao City-Davao del Sur (TDD) line of the Mindanao Railway Project.
According to the Department of Transportation (DOTr), the completion of the entire TDD line is expected “in June 2023.”
The stations of the TDD line will be located in Tagum, Carmen and Panabo in Davao del Norte; Mudiang, Maa and Toril in Davao City; and Santa Cruz and Digos City in Davao del Sur.
The DOTr said the TDD segment will reduce travel time from 3.5 hours to 1.3 hours between Tagum and Digos cities and will provide “passengers safe, fast and reliable transport options.” (Antonio L. Colina IV / MindaNews)
