ILOILO City – After just three hours of implementation on Thursday, Dec. 8, the carousel traffic scheme in Barangay Ungka II, Pavia town and Barangay Ungka, Jaro district was suspended.
It did not ease traffic congestion, according to Public Safety and Transportation Management Office (PSTMO) head Jeck Conlu.
The traffic still bottlenecked, he explained, particularly at the designated U-turn slots in front of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) – Iloilo City District Jail male dormitory in Barangay Ungka, Jaro and in front of Green Meadows Subdivision in Barangay Ungka II, Pavia.
“Gin-open naton ang intersection kay nakita naton nga kon medyo layo gid ang U-turn slots kag kon indi naton mapa-cross ang dalagku nga truck sa intersection, medyo mabug-at,” Conlu told Panay News on Friday morning.
The density of the logjam in the area is still the same despite closing the Iloilo Circumferential Road 1 (C1) intersection, he said, because those coming from the C1 road congest at a single-lane road along the Ungka flyover stretch. He added that road widening is also still ongoing.
“Biskan anhon naton ka butong pero pag-abot sa kanto sang flyover naga-one lane. So, naga-imbudo sia gihapon,” said Conlu.
He assured the riding public that the Iloilo City government, together with the local government unit (LGU) of Pavia, will continue to make adjustments to ease the traffic jam in the area.
The truck ban, meanwhile, is still being implemented by the city government on Diversion Road, including Barangay Ungka, Jaro.
The daily truck ban is from 6 a.m. to 8 a.m. and from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.
The PSTMO head is also in touch with the Pavia LGU on whether it will implement a truck ban as well, particularly in Barangay Ungka II.
Conlu continues to appeal to motorists and commuters to be extra patient while traveling especially now with the Christmas rush.
“Please balon gid sang malaba nga pasensya while nagabiyahe kita,” he said.
On Thursday morning, PSTMO closed the C1 intersection. Conlu earlier said the scheme would allow for a continuous flow of traffic from Iloilo City going to Pavia and from Pavia going to Iloilo City.
The carousel traffic scheme was introduced to ease traffic congestion in the vicinity of the Ungka flyover.
The P680-million newly-constructed Ungka flyover was closed to traffic just two weeks after it opened on Sept. 5 due to vertical displacement. It has yet to be repaired./PN
