LUCENA CITY—The controversial road-widening project inside the town proper of Sariaya in Quezon province will still push through but only in selected areas, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) said.
Nestor Cleofas, head of DPWH Quezon second engineering district, assured the public that the project would not affect heritage houses and other old structures.
“Not unless we are able to convince and be allowed by the owners of heritage houses to touch their properties, no antique houses will be destroyed,” Cleofas told the Inquirer in an interview on Thursday.
Cleofas explained that based on their new design, the entire 1-kilometer stretch of the town’s main road, which is connected to Maharlika Highway, would no longer be widened.
Target locations
He said they only planned to expand at least three strategic spots of the main street for “loading and unloading bays” for public utility vehicles.
Cleofas cited three target locations for the planned bay areas—in front of Tantuco hardware and lumber before entering Sariaya coming from Lucena City, in the central part of the town proper, and in front of Sariaya Catholic Church.
“But these areas will still be subject to consultations with all affected parties, like the homeowners and church and local officials,” he said.
Cleofas said the project, scheduled to be implemented early next year, would not start without the permission of all stakeholders.
He said that once the project is given the go-signal, the DPWH would also conduct repair work on the town’s drainage system and street corners.
Last June, the planned road-widening project along General Luna Street raised a howl among local residents, particularly Sariaya Heritage Council, who strongly opposed the project that would deface their much-treasured ancestral houses.
Based on the original plan, the DPWH aimed to expand the present two-lane main street in Sariaya town proper into four lanes to help ease the heavy volume of daily traffic coming from Maharlika Highway.
The strong opposition forced Public Works Secretary Rogelio Singson to backtrack and declare that the antique houses would be protected from any road project.
In his directive, Singson said preserving historical sites and structures should be incorporated into the designs or feasibility studies of road projects to avoid delays and changes.