P452M Baguio alternate road project completed

BAGUIO CITY – Traffic congestion in the city’s central business district will be significantly reduced following completion of the 16-km Baguio circumferential road linking the city’s western link in Irisan and its eastern link in the Happy Hallow area.

           

Ireneo S. Gallato, district engineer of the Baguio City District Engineering Office said the completed project is composed of at least 15.8 kilometers of concreted two-lane road pavement and around .207 kilometer of unpaved road sections that are distributed along the western and eastern links.

            

“The completion of the Baguio circumferential road will definitely help in significantly reducing traffic congestions in the city’s central business district area because thousands of motorists will have an alternate route to take from their points of origin to their points of destination and vice versa,” Gallato stressed, citing that the conceptualization up to the completion of the road project took at least 13 years to be realized.

            

Gallato said that the new circumferential road project will mainly serve as an alternate route to and from the central business district to ease traffic congestions along the city’s main roads, especially during peak hours of the day.

            

According to him, incidental to the expected convenience in the delivery of basic services, decentralization of the city’s population, business, educational institutions from the central business district are now being realized thereby translating to the improvement of lives of people in the different barangays located in the outskirts of the city.

            

The new circumferential road interconnects four major national roads, Naguilian road and Marcos highway in the western link and Kennon road and Loakan road in the eastern link.

            

Gallato disclosed among that works that were undertaken in the completion of the road included the construction and improvement as well as road opening coupled with the upgrading of the 16-kilometer roadline with a width of 6.70 meters. Furthermore, the additional works were composed of the installation of concrete sidewalks, slope protection walls and other necessary miscellaneous structures.

            

He added the completed western link will benefit the rapidly increasing student population of various educational institutions that have relocated along the area, residents of more than five subdivisions and around 10 barangays while easing travel time to various tourist destinations outside the city.

            

Gallato said completed eastern link will guarantee convenience of residents in nine barangays because of reduced travel time.

It is also the main road leading to the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) along Loakan road, the Philippine Military Academy (PMA), Camp John Hay, Baguio Country Club and the Loakan airport.

            

Mayor Mauricio G. Domogan expressed the gratitude to the Department of Public Works and Highways and the project implementers for the timely completion of the circumferential road project which will greatly help in significantly reducing the daily monstrous traffic congestions along the city’s main roads and will contribute in convincing businesses to relocate outside the city.