Vehicles slow down along this section of Maharlika Highway in Sariaya town in Quezon province due to a road widening project. —DELFIN T. MALLARI JR.
LUCENA CITY — Three road projects that will bypass the Maharlika Highway in three towns in Quezon province will reduce travel time from Metro Manila to Bicol region by an hour, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) said.
The agency is building three bypass roads in the towns of Gumaca (11.57 kilometers), Lopez (8.6 km) and Pagbilao (5.57 km) worth a total of P1.55 billion, according to Celestial Flancia, head of the DPWH-Quezon fourth engineering district.
“The bypass road projects will not only [solve] traffic congestion in the town centers but will also spur the economic and development programs of local governments,” Flancia said.
Once the projects are completed in 2019 and 2021, motorists from Metro Manila and Bicol will skip the town centers, easing traffic flow in these areas.
Passenger buses and cargo trucks bound for Bicol have been navigating the narrow streets in these town centers, resulting in congestion.
Traffic problem
Gumaca Mayor Erwin Caralian said his town has long been experiencing traffic problem inside the poblacion.
A study on daily traffic volume in Gumaca showed that the bypass road would help lessen by at least 21 percent the daily volume of vehicles passing through the town center.
Caralian said Gumaca, the most progressive town in Quezon’s Lamon Bay area, would not be the sole beneficiary of the road project.
“Its benefits will be felt all the way to Bicol. The project will hasten the transport of goods and services to and from Bicol,” he said.
In Gumaca, the bypass road will start in Barangay Villa Arcaya after passing the Inagbuhan bridge and will traverse six villages before exiting in Barangay Panikihan. It is expected to be completed in 2021.
In Lopez town, the road will pass through the villages of Del Pilar, San Lorenzo, Peñafrancia, Danlagan, Bacungan and Canda Ilaya. Construction is expected to be completed in 2019.
The Pagbilao road project will cross the villages of Talipan, Bukal, Mayhay and Ikirin. It is expected to be finished also in 2019.
Diversion roads
The three bypass road projects will complement a number of diversion roads along the stretch of Maharlika Highway in Quezon.
Motorists passing through Tiaong and Candelaria towns have been using bypass roads to avoid traffic jams in the town centers.
However, a bypass road project in nearby Sariaya town, which is expected to be completed this year, has been delayed due to right-of-way problems.
The DPWH is also building a P230-million underpass along the Maharlika Highway diversion road in Lucena City, a major link to Bicol. —Delfin T. Mallari Jr.