New road in Pangasinan to cut travel time to north Luzon

DAGUPAN CITY—Public Works Secretary Mark Villar inaugurated this week the 7.17-kilometer Urdaneta City bypass that would decongest traffic at the city’s business center.

Villar said the P1.88-billion six-lane highway would cut the usual 30 minutes spent by motorists going to the Ilocos and other parts of northern Luzon to only 10 minutes. The road crosses eight villages in the city. Four interregional road systems—Manila North Road, Urdaneta-Dagupan Road, Urdaneta-Manaoag Road and Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Expressway (TPLEx)—will also be connected to the bypass.

A portion of the highway has been passable since 2019.Villar said the Department of Public Works and Highways was planning to connect more roads to the Urdaneta bypass, which was officially opened on Monday.

He said another P400 million would be spent for pedestrian and bike lanes along the diversion road.

Ronnel Tan, the DPWH director in the Ilocos, said some 38,000 motorists were expected to use the bypass daily as it serves as an alternate road to the pilgrimage town of Manaoag, Dagupan City and nearby provinces. —YOLANDA SOTELO