CEBU CITY – Residents and pedestrians welcomed the opening of a new skywalk in Mandaue City on Wednesday, March 12.
MANDAUE City Rep. Emmarie ‘Lolypop’ Ouano-Dizon (right) and Mandaue Vice Mayor Nerissa Soon-Ruiz grace the blessing and turnover ceremony of a newly built skywalk in Mandaue on Wednesday, March 12. (Contributed photo)
Local officials said the skywalk in Barangay Maguikay was badly needed as it will spare pedestrians from danger while crossing the busy road.
“Without the skywalk, we are forced to cross the road which is very dangerous especially like me who is not used to crossing a road,” said 12-year-old Christian Nies, a student of a private school located near the area.
Rosalinda Polhencio said her daughter was hit by a motorcycle while they were crossing the road near the area.
“My daughter was traumatized because of the incident. For two weeks, she didn’t want to go to school because of the incident. That’s why we really came here to thank that finally, there’s this skywalk already,” Rosalinda said.
The skywalk was a replacement of an old skywalk that was demolished when its beam was hit by a refrigerated van on March 29, 2023.
Maguikay Barangay Captain Eduardo Gumera said several accidents happened in the area when the damaged skywalk was closed for public use.
“This is very important for us because this is a very busy place. This brings a lot of convenience to the pedestrians,” said Gumera.
The construction of a new skywalk was awarded to a contractor last Dec. 27, 2023 when a Notice to Proceed was issued on Jan. 5, 2024 and construction was completed in 188 calendar days, said Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) District Engineer Gumer Castillo.
Castillo said the design of the skywalk is the first-ever in Mandaue. The skywalk is 10-meters high and 21-meters wide.
The skywalk was built for P15 million, including the P2.47 million that was spent to demolish the old structure. An additional P3.48 million was spent for closed-circuit television cameras and solar lights that will be installed in the facility.
Gumera said security personnel will be deployed in the skywalk to make sure that it will be exclusively used by pedestrians.
“No vendors will be allowed here and no one will be allowed to sleep here,” said Gumera.
The blessing and turnover ceremony of the skywalk was graced by Mandaue Rep. Emmarie "Lolypop" Ouano-Dizon.
"I'm so happy that this project was realized because it’s a big help for students, parents, and workers,” said Dizon.