By Chito Chavez  With the expected exodus of vacationers returning to Metro Manila after the Holy Week break, the Quezon City Engineering Department (QCED) assured the public that the city’s local roads and inner streets that may be utilized as alternate routes will be well-paved, ensuring safer and more comfortable travel. Joselito Cabungcal head of the QCED said that he has also dispatched field men to ensure that road shoulders of local roads are free from obstructions. Even during regular days, Cabungcal said routine maintenance work continues to be undertaken on city roads. He noted that obstructions and crater-like potholes often lead to the breakdown of vehicles that may cause horrendous traffic that make life more miserable for the millions of motorists. In the worst scenario, poorly-maintained roads often lead to vehicular accidents that cause serious injuries and sometimes death to the affected parties. Pedestrians are also forced to occupy the roads if the sidewalks are filled with stalls and other illegally constructed structures or stockpiles of soil, gravel and sand that may have been left during road construction. Cabungcal said that he will list down the errant contractors conducting repairs or pipe laying activities on local roads of concerned agencies leaving their spoils, debris and waste materials on the sidewalks and submit them to Mayor Herbert Bautista for proper action. “We will continue to perform our routine road maintenance duties as ordered by Mayor Herbert Bautista,’’ Cabungcal added. Aside from road repairs, Cabungcal said that his office has started de-clogging and cleaning operations of inlets, canals, ponds and other waterways to ease flooding in case unlikely heavy rains occur in the following days. The Quezon City Police District (QCPD), in coordination with the city’s Department of Public Order and Safety (DPOS), has also dispatched personnel since Monday to manage known traffic-prone areas which will be affected by the expected travel of motorists to the provinces, and their eventual return to Metro Manila. The local police has concentrated on known entry/exit points like the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX), Commonwealth Avenue, Circumferential Road 5 and Bonifacio Road where traffic gridlock is anticipated as millions of motorists ply the Quezon City routes from the provinces. It is estimated that at least 192,000 vehicles going to and coming from the Central Luzon and Northern Luzon provinces are expected to pass through NLEX. Traffic enforcers will also be stationed near the city’s bus terminals with the expected increase in number of passengers coming back to the metropolis from their Lenten Season break.