‘Killer road’ set to be fixed; funds allotted

TUBA, Benguet – The national government earmarked at least P13 million to fund the put up of safety signs and road components to made the Marcos highway which has been branded as a “killer highway” safer after numerous accidents that claimed dozens of lives.

Rep. Ronald M. Cosalan, chairman of the House committee on public works, said the installation of more safety signs and additional safety road components were the recommendations of the DPWH technical team tasked to conduct a study on how to ensure the safety of motorists plying along the road to reduce number of vehicular accidents.

The DPWH recommended not to push through with the planned regarding and widening of the 3.2-kilomter portion of the road which was identified as the “killer area” because it would result to the disruption of the stability of the mountain slope and would result to the occurrence of more problems in the future, particularly landslides.

Moreover, the study found out it is also impractical to widen a portion of the road on the right side going down because of the existence of too many private properties that will be affected which will result to bigger obligations on the part of the government through the payment of properties that will be affected by the project.

Instead, Cosalan claimed the best solution to the problem of having a “killer highway” is for the installation of more safety signs and the putting up of more road safety components such as humps, rumbling strips among others that will keep drivers alert and lessen their speed while descending along the portion of the road.

From 2005 to 2010, 52 people died while more than 100 others were injured due to dozens of vehicular accidents that happened along the Badiwan section of the Marcos highway which was then branded as a “killer highway.”

From January to July this year, eleven persons were injured due to several vehicular accidents that transpired along the same portion of the road.

Cosalan disclosed the DPWH technical team also recommended for the allocation of P130 million to re-grade the portion of the “killer highway” but the same will not actually solve the problem considering that the regarding will not be able to reduce the 16 percent grade of the road to about one-third in order to minimize the occurrence of vehicular accidents that usually lead to loss of lives and damage to properties.

The lawmaker asserted all possible means to reduce the occurrence of accidents along the road must be done by the public works department so that more tourists will be encouraged to come up to the Baguio and Benguet areas to spend a break and contribute to the growth of the local tourism industry which is the lifeblood of the region’s economic growth.

Marcos highway is considered an “all-weather road” after its rehabilitation through a P1.2 billion grant from the Overseas Economic Cooperation Fund of Japan ten years ago but the grade of the “killer area” was not appropriately improved that time. – Dexter A. See