BAGUIO CITY – The Cordillera office of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH-CAR) revealed that the government will be able to fully pave the over 2,200 kilometers of national roads in the different parts of the region to help significantly improve inter municipal, inter-provincial and inter-regional linkages and entice investors to put up their businesses in strategic places.
DPWH-CAR planning division head Angelita Mabitazan claimed that based on data obtained from the different district offices in the region, 90 percent of the classified national roads have already been paved pursuant to the mandate of the agency to have all national roads concreted three years ago.
She added that the remaining unpaved national roads will be concreted by the end of next year after all the programmed concreting projects this year and next year will be completed which will eventually translate to better and enhanced economic activities in the countryside.
“We will be able to assure the paving of the listed number of kilometres of national roads in the region by next year once we will be able to complete the programmed projects that were included in the annual budgets for this year and next year,” Mabitazan stressed.
The DPWH-CAR official pointed out that for national roads that are yet to be declared pursuant to approved legislations proposed by lawmakers, the agency will have to deal with the said matter separately considering that the full concreting of the said roads will be funded in future budgets of the national government.
Lawmakers from different legislative districts previously filed proposed bills that seek to convert local roads in their areas of jurisdiction to national roads so that the DPWH will be able to take over the maintenance of the said roads thereby lessening the burden from the provincial, city and municipal governments.
The development, upgrading and rehabilitation of major road networks has been envisioned by Cordillera leaders under the so-called Cordillera road Improvement Program (CRIP) which is the blueprint of the overall development of different road networks providing inter-municipal, inter-provincial and inter-regional linkages.
Baguio City is the only area in the region that was able to fully concrete its existing national roads considering its limited area although most of its rods have been reclassified to be national in status whereby it is the DPWH that is maintaining the road networks in the different parts of the city.
Aside from ensuring the concreting of all national roads in the different parts of the region, she said that the agency is also working on the compliance of national roads to the 60-meter width of national roads, thus, obstructions to the same must be removed to ensure the smooth flow of traffic along the said roads and provide convenience among motorists plying such roads.
She assured motorists that works on national roads will be implemented pursuant to prescribed standards in the implementation of concreting projects so that whatever works that will be completed will last their economic life so that there will be no waste of public funds and that the people will stand to benefit from better condition of roads in their places.
By HENT
