BAGUIO CITY – The conduct of a road inventory survey of all city roads will be pursued here to help the city government plan better for their upkeep.
The city council recently authorized Mayor Mauricio Domogan to enter into a Memorandum of Agreement with the Road Board in partnership with the Dept. of Interior and Local Government (DILG) for the implementation of the Locational Referencing System-Conduct of Road Inventory Survey (LRS-CRIS) of all city roads in the city.
Domogan said the LRS-CRIS “aimed to standardize the method and format in coming up with a comprehensive local roads inventory and condition survey vital to planning, managing and prioritizing the maintenance by the local governments of their own roads.”
Vice Mayor Edison Bilog affirmed that the project will enable the Road Board and the city to “make better planning decisions, allocate funds efficiently and ultimately improve the management of the roads within the city.”
Under the MOA, the project comprises of two phases – the conduct of road and bridges inventory survey and the installation of kilometer posts.
For the first phase, the components are the conduct of the Global Positioning System road centerline survey, collection, consolidation and processing of road and bridge inventory data, uploading of survey and processed data in the roads and bridges inventory system and the conduct of capacity building activities and provision of technical assistance to local government units in the conduct of GPS centerline and road inventory surveys (RBIS), processing, uploading and updating of data in the RBIS.
The Road Board will facilitate the allocation of the budget for the budget, establish a project management office, manage the implementation and provide policy guidance for the project, procure, engage and mobilize the service provider for the first phase and contract for the second phase of the project.
The DILG will provide the reference database for the inventory survey on the nationwide list of provincial and city roads as of December, 2014, facilitate and coordinate the entry of the service provider in the local government units and monitor the project’s implementation at the local government unit level, among other tasks.
For its part, the city government will designate a focal person for the project, provide counterpart staff and funds for fuel and costs of labor and materials, install the kilometer posts validate the inventory of roads and approve route plan for the conduct of the surveys based on the approved road inventory and provide secondary data for the road inventory, among others.
The project is pursuant to Republic Act No. 8794 or An Act Imposing a Motor Vehicle User’s Charge on Owners of all Types of Motor Vehicles and for other purposed which mandates the earmarking of the national funds for the maintenance of national, provincial and city roads, traffic management and road safety devices under the Special Local Road Fund.
The city council in Resolution No. 73 which grants the authority to the mayor noted that the intent of RA 8794 is “one of the means to address the constraints and major challenges faced by the city in its road system brought by rapid urbanization.”
“Prior to the implementation for the realization of the objectives of (RA 8794, the city is pressed with a need to have a comprehensive road inventory and condition survey of all city roads in compliance with the standard method and format prescribed by the Road Board,” the body noted.
By Aileen P. Refuerzo
