Baguio road repairs: Necessary evil

BAGUIO CITY—The Department of Public Works and Highways on Wednesday said it was undertaking 14 road repair projects one after the other that was expected to create monstrous traffic jams here until January next year.

Ireneo Gallato, Baguio City district engineer, said the DPWH has been installing drainage tunnels and overhauling 95 kilometers of national roads in Baguio.

The agency has been swamped with complaints since June when contractors tore up portions of Loakan Road leading to Camp John Hay, Philippine Military Academy and the mines, and Bokawkan Road which leads to La Trinidad town in Benguet.

Last month, the DPWH also tore up a section of Naguilian Road (Quirino Highway), which is a major artery to Baguio and leads to heavily populated Quezon Hill.

Toward the last quarter of 2011, the DPWH will start tearing up portions of Ferguson Road, Outlook Drive near the Baguio Country Club, traffic-prone Magsaysay Avenue and historic Kennon Road, said Cesario Rillera, a DPWH engineer.

He said three road projects are on Loakan Road, while two projects are on Magsaysay Avenue.

Gallato said work crews have finished three of these projects: one near Burnham Park and two others outside Fort del Pilar, which hosts the PMA. Work on Bokawkan Road will end by September, Rillera said.

Gallato said 80 percent of these repairs should be accomplished by December, while the rest are scheduled to be finished by the second week of January 2012.

The city’s troubles won’t end there.

Rillera said Baguio Rep. Bernardo Vergara has asked for funds to upgrade and overhaul downtown Session Road next year. Work there will coincide with the upgrade and repair of Baguio’s underground sewer networks, he said.

Gallato said the DPWH distributed to police and barangays a proposed traffic rerouting scheme, particularly through business centers.

“Motorists and tourists should adjust to the traffic scheme,” he said.

He said DPWH received an order directing all regional offices to overhaul all national roads. The government allotted P208.4 million for the projects.

The DPWH Cordillera office also endorsed proposals to convert 20 kilometers of city roads into national roads.

“The number of vehicles in the city has been increasing that is why we should increase the number of roads,” Gallato said.