TUBA, Benguet – Residents living in various communities along Kennon Road are now up in arms against the least riority being given by the officials of the Cordillera office of the Department of Public works and Highways (DPWH -CAR) on their continuous appeal for the re-opening of the road to vehicular traffic even for them in the meantime, saying that more weight should be given to the clamor of the public instead of the interest of the contractor implementing a bridge project in the area.
Barangay officials of a number of barangays along the road pointed out that DPWH-CAR officials might be made to believe but there are only a few residents that are affected by the closure of the road but based on data obtained from the local government, there are over 5,000 residents who have been deprived of convenient mobility to and from their residences over the past five months that the road has been closed.
By going around Marcos highway to attend to their work and studies in Baguio City, workers and students have incurred a triple expense on their daily transportation which is no longer commensurate to the prevailing wages that resulted to their origination from work and even their stopping from attending their classes.
Earlier, in a radio interview over RPN-DZBS, DPWH-CAR regional director Engr. Tiburcio Canlas declared that Kennon road is not safe and that the ongoing multi-million bridge project of the agency along Camp 5 will be completed by March.
He event went to question the reason why people from the lowlands flock to Baguio City and insist on using the roadline when there are available safer alternate routes that could be used for their convenient and stress-free travel to and from Baguio City.
However, concerned barangay officials questioned the DPWH-CAR for allowing the detour bridge to be used by the contractor of the Camp 5 bridge as an assembly area for the 45-ton girder for the bridge when the same could be opened for light vehicular traffic as what had been previously happening.
According to them, passenger jeepneys plying the routes leading to communities have a maximum weight of over 3 tons each which pass through the area intermittently instead of having a 45-ton girder placed on top of the detour bridge for a long period of time.
Mayor Ignacio Rivera asserted that most of the residents living in the different barangays along Kennon road are now complaining on the difficulty of having access to their residences, their workplaces and their schools that is why DPWH-CAR officials should be sensitive on the matter instead of coming out with obviously ill-advised statements that hurt the feelings of people.
He asserted that another reason why people are pressing for the re-opening of Kennon |road is the monstrous traffic congestions created by the long line of motor vehicles having to pass through a few alternate routes leading to Baguio city that extend up to Pugo and Rosario towns in La Union, especially during weekends where people from the lowlands flock to Baguio to spend a well deserved break.
Rivera underscored that no one could stop people from deciding to spend their weekend break in Baguio City because it is their right to travel to their desired destinations.
By Dexter A. See
