Marcos highway closed to truckers, veggie carriers

BAGUIO CITY -- Starting Tuesday, heavy truckers carrying loads are banned on Marcos Highway, the primary all-weather road from and to this city and Benguet province.

 Department of Public Works and Highways Region 1 (DPWH-1) Information Officer Esperanza Tinaza said, “Tankers and dump trucks are advised not to pass in the area to avoid further damage to the road.”

 Tinaza was referring to the section of Marcos Highway’s Agoo-Baguio road in Barangay Cares in Pugo, La Union, where the pavement was damaged due to the heavy downpour around 2 p.m. on Monday (August 13). The truck ban took effect Tuesday (Aug. 14) morning.

 “It is passable only to light vehicles,” she said, adding that buses can also pass on the said road section.

 She said that due to the ban, heavy vehicles are being diverted to the Baguio-Bauang road or commonly known as Naguilian road.

 Tinaza said the diversion of heavy vehicles is temporary and is a measure to prevent further damages to the road.

The DPWH has installed warning signs and barricades on the affected road section with a maintenance crew on a 24/7 traffic duty, to guide motorists. There are also policemen tasked to man the traffic, it being a one way passable section.

 As a remedial measure, Tinaza explained that a backhoe breaker had been dispatched to start the work- break the concrete, which will be removed and filled with aggregates, to make the road passable even to truckers again.

 “We will do the concreting as soon as the rain stops,” Tinaza said.

 Marcos highway is the primary road that leads to Baguio and Benguet, where people are not the only the ones regularly being transported but also highland vegetables from the mountain trail to Metro Manila and other parts of the country. (Dionisio Dennis Jr./ PNA)