‘All weather ’ Kennon Road to cost P38 billion

Road is being spruced up for tourists who are allowed to use this zigzag route to Baguio City during weekends. (Photo by EV ESPIRITU / Philippine Daily Inquirer)

BAGUIO CITY, Philippines — An “all weather” Kennon Road costs P38 billion so government will need private support in rebuilding what has become one of the most expensive projects of the American colonial government.

The fate of Kennon Road was discussed at a Cordillera Tourism Forum on Thursday, now that travel time from Metro Manila to Baguio had been reduced from 7 and 8 hours to 3 hours because of the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway and the Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Expressway.

The iconic zigzag road is still the most scenic route to Baguio, but it remains closed to motorists due to fragile mountainsides that occasionally erode after strong rains.

Certain portions of the 36-kilometer road are in critical condition and require immediate rehabilitation, said Tiburcio Canlas, Cordillera director of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).

Kennon Road has been open only to villagers living in the area so they can attend school, go to work and transact business in Baguio, Canlas told tourism officials and representatives of travel agencies.

Because of the Christmas holidays, the road is open to motorists from 6 p.m. on Friday until 6 a.m. on Monday.

But keeping it permanently open would require massive engineering, including installing several tunnels that protect vehicles from falling rocks and viaducts, Canlas said.

He described the engineering concept under review by the DPWH as “futuristic” but doable, once a feasibility study is undertaken for a public-private partnership initiative.

Like all mountain roads, maintaining Kennon Road has always been expensive due to the additional requirements for slope protection and drainage systems.—Vincent Cabreza