CITY OF SAN FERNANDO – Gov. Dennis “Delta” Pineda on Thursday (March 2) convened the Department of Public Works and Highways and other stakeholders, including the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority and officials from Bataan and Zambales, to address traffic congestions caused by the ongoing road rehabilitation projects along Jose Abad Santos Avenue (JASA) and MacArthur Highway here.
During the meeting held at the Kingsborough International Convention Center, the governor asked the DPWH to coordinate their weekly road activities with the City Public Order and Safety Coordinating Office and the provincial government in order to provide early advisories to the public.
“Ito po ay para malaman ng publiko kung anong oras magsisimula ang trabaho ng mga contractor, kung anong oras magsasara ang kalsada, nang sa gayon ay makaiwas po sila sa mga lugar na ito at sa posibleng pagkakaipit sa trapiko,” Pineda said.
He also urged truckers from neighboring provinces to take alternate routes to Manila instead of passing through the province.
“Sa mga kasamahan po namin sa ibang probinsiya, especially sa Bataan at Zambales po, nakikiusap po kami na sana ay tulungan niyo po kami na bawasan ang traffic dito sa City of San Fernando. Four months lang naman po ang trabaho, sana po ay iwasan niyo muna po na pumasok dito sa Pampanga, gamitin niyo na muna po ang SCTEX-NLEX if you’re going to Manila para na rin po maiwasan ninyong ma-traffic ng ilang oras dito,” he appealed.
According to Engr. Jayson Jauco, assistant division chief of the DPWH-3 Construction Division, they currently have three ongoing projects in the province, one along JASA and two along MacArthur Highway.
“Ang task ng DPWH-3 ngayon around Pampanga is the implementation of the widening here in JASA near Lazatin Boulevard, at ang ating mga konstruksyon, upgrading, improvement, rehabilitation ng MacArthur Highway. ‘Yung sa MacArthur Highway, mayroon tayong pitong sections diyan: mayroong section ng San Fernando, Sto. Tomas, at Apalit. Lahat po ‘yan ay ire-rehab, ang section ng Sto. Tomas at Apalit, ia-upgrade po,” said Jauco.
Pineda, meanwhile, appealed to the public to be patient as the provincial government and all stakeholders work together to alleviate traffic congestions.
“Hindi po natin pwedeng pabayaan na sira ang kalsada natin, parte po ng development ng province ang ginagawang mga kalsada. Alam naman po natin na kapag hindi po naayos ang mga ‘yan, maaari po ‘yang magdulot ng malalang traffic o ‘di kaya naman ay aksidente. Kapag natapos naman po ‘yang mga ‘yan, I guarantee you, hindi na po masisira ang mga ‘yan for years lalo na’t mayroon na po tayong anti-overloading, tuluy-tuloy po nating ipatutupad ‘yan gaya ng ipinangako ko,” the governor said. Jasmine Jaso/Pampanga PIO
