BAGUIO CITY – Residents affected by the supposed closure of the Ambiong-Rimando road are elated after officials of the Department of Public Works and Highways – Baguio City District Engineering Office(DPWH-BCDEO) and the project contractor agreed not to totally close the 600-meter portion of the road which will undergo rehabilitation.
During a recent dialogue among Stakeholders Wednesday, Engr. Alexander C. Castañeda, DPWH-BCDEO district engineer, said in order to ensure the smooth implementation of the project and lesser inconvenience to the local residents in the area, Ambiong road will only be closed to the public from 9 am to 5 pm and 10 pm to 6 am daily.
“We understand the concerns of the residents in the area but they should also understand the need to improve the condition of the said road, thus, the agreed win-win solution so that our overall performance in the implementation of infrastructure projects will not be compromised,” Castañeda stressed.
After ordering the total closure of the newly declared national road, residents living along the roadline complained on the long route that they will have to traverse which has a distance of around 10 to 16 kilometers one way just to reach the city’s central business district which would greatly affect the studies of children and students and the productivity of government and private workers.
He cited although the road will be opened to vehicular traffic in some instances during the day, he said the contractor’s work force will have to continue working in order to ensure the immediate completion of the project in less than one month.
“The contractor, Goldrich Construction, committed to do its best in order to complete all programmed works in less than one month so that local residents and visitors will be able to make use of the road during the Panagbenga season,” the DPWH-BCDEO official stressed.
He said technical personnel from the agency will closely monitor the activities of the contractor during the project duration to make sure that all programmed works are done pursuant to project plans and specifications and to guarantee that the project will be completed in less than a month.
He appealed to local residents in the area to be patient in dealing with whatever problems that will arise during the project implementation that started Thursday because they will be the ones to reap convenience in their daily travel once the road project shall have been completed before the first week of February.
