In this photo released by the Department of Public Works and Highways on Thursday (Oct. 6), a car’s side mirror is damaged by jutting steel rebar from demolition works for a road project in Bulacan.
CITY OF SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga — All 14 district engineering offices of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) in Central Luzon should remove obstructions on national roads after accidents were blamed on construction projects.
Roseller Tolentino, DPWH regional director, gave the order on Thursday, Oct. 6, based on an Oct. 3 memorandum by Undersecretary for Regional Operations Roberto Bernardo, who reiterated road safety measures.
In a statement, Tolentino did not say how many road accidents have been caused allegedly by DPWH projects in the region this year, but said: “Government contractors implementing road projects must ensure an adequate number of signage and traffic control devices at construction sites.”
“We require them to submit a worksite traffic management plan and a traffic operational plan, so we expect that road accidents caused by civil works will be minimized,” Tolentino added.
He said DPWH field engineers overseeing project implementation must “ascertain that visible road signs are placed at the right distance, especially at night when most road accidents occur.”
Tolentino said many factors contribute to road accidents, such as not enough lighting at construction sites, poorly maintained roadways, and the presence of obstructions within the right-of-way of national roads, and “all of these should be removed.”
Tolentino has enforced the anti-overloading law since August, banning vehicles carrying loads beyond the 33-ton gross weight limit on national roads and bridges used as alternate routes for the North Luzon Expressway’s Candaba viaduct, which started to be repaired last July.
Eduardo de Guzman, Land Transportation Office regional director, cited the World Health Organization’s data showing that 51 percent of road crashes in Central Luzon in 2020 occurred due to the failure of brakes in overloaded vehicles.INQ
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