ILOILO City – Traffic in the Ungka area, especially during rush hours, has finally eased.
On Friday, Sept. 22, after 6 a.m., the P680-million Ungka flyover, spanning Pavia town in Iloilo province and Jaro district here, was opened to four-wheeled light vehicles.
Jeck Conlu, head of the Public Safety and Transportation Management Office (PSTMO), said, “We can clearly see the positive impact of opening the flyover. If we look at the Pavia side, they now experience very light traffic, and the same goes for the city side.”
The flyover is accessible from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. and from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. daily until further notice.
“We hope that there won’t be any vertical movement issues in this area because we can truly gauge the effect of opening our Ungka flyover,” Conlu added.
Before the flyover’s reopening, motorists encountered heavy traffic when traveling to the city from Pavia town in the morning and from the city to the GT Mall area in the late afternoon.
“When we assess the traffic movement, more than 50 percent improvement has been achieved in our traffic situation in the Ungka flyover area,” Conlu stated.
As traffic conditions improved, Conlu noted that the workload of PSTMO personnel had also reduced. Now, their focus is on ensuring that only authorized vehicles use the flyover.
According to regulations set by the Department of Public Works and Highways, PSTMO, and the local government unit (LGU) of Pavia, motorcycles, bicycles, and tricycles are prohibited from using the flyover.
In the first few days, authorities anticipate that many of those not permitted to use the flyover will attempt to do so, which is why Conlu emphasized the need to enhance the information dissemination campaign.
Additionally, on Friday morning, an ambulance exceeded the set vertical height limit and hit the gantry. In light of this, Conlu plans to discuss with the DPWH the possibility of allowing ambulances to access the flyover.
Modernized jeepneys are also prohibited due to exceeding the vertical limit, while traditional public utility jeepneys (PUJs) are allowed. However, almost no PUJs used the flyover on the previous day because some passengers disembarked under the flyover or at the People’s Terminal and Christ the King Terminal.
“They cannot pass through here, even if we fully open it because when you exit the approach to our flyover, you cannot make an immediate right turn. This poses a danger and is unsafe for our motorists, so they need to pass underneath,” Conlu explained./PN