Manila-Laoag road finished by year end, says DPWH exec

By Jun Velasco and Orly Guirao

SAN FERNADO CITY, La Union – The tiring 12-hour travel from Manila to Laoag City will be over before yearend.

Mariano Alquiza, Region 1 director of the Department of Public Works and Highways, reported construction work on the more-than-100-kilometer stretch of the Manila North Road from Pangasinan to Ilocos Norte is being rushed to completion in time for the Yuletide season.

The project, part of a nationwide pump-priming infrastructure program of the Arroyo administration, calls for the upgrading of the Pangasinan-Ilocos portion of MNR to ensure better road safety, and faster and more convenient travel for motorists, Alquiza said.

Funded with P1.5 billion earmarked in the DPWH’s 2009 budget, the project also involves the repair, widening, and construction of bridges and immediate lateral roads.

Engineer Yolanda Tanco, construction division chief of the DPWH Region 1 office, said all the project components are being undertaken by construction firms noted for their reliability of finishing their contracts on schedule.

“We are on schedule, and we hope to complete all the projects before the last week of December, this year,” Tanco said, adding that the concrete-paving of the major road sections in Ilocos Sur is now 60 percent complete.

In the past,motorists used to negotiate the Manila-Laoag distance in eight hours, but with the on going construction, travel time slows down to 12 hours as the vehicular traffic crawls in Ilocos Sur where most of the works are being done.

The Regional Development Council (RDC), headed by Ilocos Sur. Gov. Deogracias Savellano, expects the tourism industry in the provinces of Pangasinan, La Union, Ilocos Sur, and Ilocos Norte to experience growth as soon as the road network is upgraded.

The Ilocos Region boasts of fine-sand beaches and magnificent historical landmarks, attracting tourists, mostly Taiwanese and Europeans.

Meanwhile, Alquiza appealed to the motoring public to bear with the temporary inconvenience.

“This is part of the growth pains,” said Alquiza who is president of the National Association of Career Executive Service Officers.