Bontoc-Tabuk- Tuguegarao road nearly finished; DPWH

By Dexter A. See

BAGUIO CITY – Motorists and commuters expect lesser travel time and more comfort with the near completion of the 108-kilometer stretch of the Bontoc-Tabuk-Tuguegarao road, a flagship project of the government over the past several years.

The project was geared towards improving inter-provincial and inter-regional accessibility to enhance the vibrance of the region’s lucrative tourism industry.
Engineer Edilberto Carabaccan, regional director of the Department of Public Works and Highways Cordillera, said the more than P3-billion project has now registered 90 percent accomplishment.

The project will be finished once the remaining road-right-of-way problems are settled by both the project implementers and concerned local officials from Kalinga and Mountain Province.

Travel time now from Bontoc to Tabuk via Tingalayan is cut to five to six hours only, which used to be 10-12 hours travel over rugged roads, making it difficult for tourists to visit the scenic tourist spots in the interior parts of the Cordillera.

Tourism will also be greatly improved where sightseers visiting the area will be more comfortable not to mention the economic growth and the effect of the development to agriculture, said Carabaccan.

According to Carabaccan, they are taking advantage of the summer season and working overtime to finally finish the project.

“We hope to finish the whole stretch very soon as we have still some problems on the road right of way. We are addressing these predicaments and we are positive we will be done with the remaining unfinished work,” Carabaccan said.