On road quality and repair

BENCHWARMER
Ramon Dacawi

BAGUIO CITY -- We cringe each time we see a concreted road with hardly any visible sign of damage being torn down by jackhammers, only to be rebuilt with new mix. In a few years, it’s destroyed again, and then replaced with new concrete again. Highway travelers, snagged and halted by blocks posed by road crews and backhoes at work, can’t help but shake their heads over how project funds can incredulously go down the drain.

If there’s more reason than meets the eye, it’s too technical for us to comprehend beyond the all-too-common argument that the new cement mix could have been poured where the potholes are.

Years back, it was also over my head how all-weather, concreted roads were hastily black-topped, only to be washed out by rains that, somehow, are still predictable despite this so-called climate change. The asphalt could have gone a long way to improving, say the road to Kapangan, Benguet which is slowly being concreted on some portions.

Being poor in math, I simply can’t understand. That’s why I never even thought of taking up civil engineering. I used to depend on the late newsman Willy Cacdac for my assignments in algebra and trigonometry. Willy, a well-rounded figure of competence – as secretary to the mayor, print and broadcast journalist, orator, debater and solver of my math problems, saw things clearer than I do.

In a training for government supervisors, a classmate of his began spilling bladder over the bad state of roads in his vote-rich province. The critic’s passion triggered froth a-forming around his mouth as he blasted highways planning and priority. When Willy took his turn, he reminded his classmate how lucky his province to have such roads, whatever state they might be in.

“Whatever road condition you have, you’re far advanced and less neglected than us in the Cordillera,” Willy told him. “May I also speak of roads that are badly needed by our region but have yet to be built,” he juxtaposed and went on.

Willy had one perspective I found flawed. He once told a press conference with infrastructure development officials that the Halsema National Highway, which he aptly termed the “Mountain Trail”, was the most dangerous in the country because of its state of disrepair.

On the contrary, the Mountain Trail was the safest simply because you couldn’t drive fast on a narrow and bumpy dirt road with numerous sharp bends that gave you the feeling your bus’ rear tire was hanging in the air.

That made our drivers the most courteous, defensive and patient. I admired the way they honk a greeting after readily giving way to each other along the numerous one-way portions. Travel can only be dangerous during stormy and foggy nights. So cat eyes were installed, but some were pried loose and, I was told, sold to contractors who reinstalled them somewhere.

Perhaps because we had more pine trees than farmers who could vote, Halsema remained neglected for generations. It took President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to include its rehabilitation in her State of the Nation address.

How good the highways men are at rehabilitating, however, remains to be seen. We are already hearing complaints on sub-standard quality of work on this and other SONA road projects up here. If so, then Halsema would have maintained its distinction as one of the most productive to maintain.

“It’s been the most sustainable and productive “payew” (rice terrace) we have,” friend Edmund Bugnosen, an engineer, e-mailed me. “It’s because it requires continuous maintenance that provides livelihood.” That gives you the sneaky suspicion road projects were patterned after the way cars are now produced. Vehicle models are not as durable as before, so you have to buy another after some time.

In some instances, priority was on roadside stonewalling rather than actual pavement concreting. “I could have borrowed Batman’s car and drove sideways on the walls if I only knew,” SwannyDicang, he with the irrepressible humor, muttered as he passed by a rip-rapped portion of a mountain highway.

In a capital town, a political leader passed on to us a comment from one of his constituents. He was asked why funds are used to concrete roads. “Ti kuarta, maibulsa, saannga ma-isemento (Money is to be pocketed, not mixed with cement),” the official said he was told. I thought it was one of those Ifugao jokes, except that we heard that comment in another province - where Ifugao jokes are also relished.
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P.S. While this article was written over a year ago, I may find the need to print it again about this time next year. I got update last week that non-technical people can be right in their judgment that concreted roads can last for years. Examples are city roads which were concreted some 20 to 30 years ago. The City Camp Road, from Mount Crest Hotel to the city motor pool, was concreted in 1981 and until now withstands the wear and tear of vehicle tires. Bonifacio Road was cemented in 1982. Ferguzon, Rimando, Gen. Luna and Legarda roads were all concreted in 1983, so with Chuntug and Carino streets.

Some of these city roads eventually became national roads, like Quezon Hill No. 2 Road which was concreted in 1983. It is now being jack hammered for re-concreting as a national road. There’s reason to believe that with their conversion as national roads, these city streets would also be jack-hammered and replaced with new concrete in the next few years. As had been done several times, and is again being done, to Bokawkan (now called Buhagan) Road. (e-mail:mondaxbench@yahoo.com for comments.)