Road cuts prevent tourists’, motorists’ access to Sagada

By Gina Dizon

SAGADA, Mountain Province -- Road cuts in this tourist town are preventing access to motorists since these have not yet been restored since landslides occurred early May.

A major landslide at  BarangayTaccong  located just above the Inakang bridge created a road cut and collapsed the retaining wall seemingly devoid of  steel reinforcement  obviously due to heavy pressure from  forceful waters ramming into the walls of the structure.  

The road cut prevents motorists from crossing to the connecting Sabangan-Sagada road via Madepdeppas  either towards the direction to Sagada or southbound to Sabangan and Bauko.

Bauko mayor  Abraham Akilit said the road cut prevents  tourists coming from Sagada  to Bauko. The Sabangan-Bauko road  is connected to two major routes to the Ilocos and Baguio City.   

Residents of  nearby Taccong and Nacagang have to carry their farm products for market  via  nearby Suyo barangay and/or  at the Inakang Bridge where transportation is found to reach market outlets in Sagada or Bontoc.

The  P124 million Taccong-Sagada  continues the P100 million Sabangan-Sagada road project covered within the  convergence  program of both the Department of  Tourism (DTI) and the Department of  Public works and Highways (DPWH) in furtherance of tourism potential  areas.

The  P124 million project was awarded to BMK Construction and the rest of the completion of concreting work on same road  to ET Latawan Construction.  

Meantime, here along the Kanipawan farm to market road  at  Antadao barangay, a landslide for quite some time has not yet been restored along the road section located below the building owned by former mayor EduadoLatawan Jr.

This Kanipawan  FMR  was constructed in 2014 with some funds controversially realigned from the  P15 million Tanulong-Madongo road funded by PAMANA.    

Notice of the construction of the Kanipawan farm to market road was issued by the late regional director  Marilyn Sta Catalina September 2013 with project amount  P3.5 million to Robert Bayo of  Rhob Construction and Engineering Services based in San Vicente Baguio City.