PHILIPPINE REAL ESTATE and RELATED NEWS in and around the country . . .
.
.

[ Benguet-Vizcaya ] P1.7-B road is unsafe due to lack of maintenance work

[ Manila Bulletin Online ] December 9, 2008

By DEXTER A. SEE


Contractor blamed for perilous condition of Benguet-Vizcaya road

BOKOD, Benguet — Local officials and residents here said the lack of maintenance work on the P1.7-billion Benguet-Nueva Vizcaya Road is due to the failure of the contractor to turn over the foreign-assisted project to the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).


The municipal government has raised concern about the landslides on the highway which have not been cleared, saying these pose danger to motorists.


Because CavDil, the project contractor, has yet to turn over the project, DPWH could not come in to maintain the vital road that connects the Cordillera to Region 2.


Because it is not yet turned over to the government, the company is still obliged to do maintenance work.

The residents said it is still the responsibility of the contractor to maintain the road.


CavDil, however, is no longer here to maintain it because it has reportedly transferred to Palawan.


Local officials cited the urgent need to install more road signs and fences as well as stone boxes on the slopes for protection of motorists as well as the residents of communities traversed by the major highway road.


The completed project was supposed to have been turned over to the DPWH after its completion in the middle of this year, but this did not happen for unknown reason.


Because the project remains under the care of the contractor, it is mandatory for the Cavite-based construction firm to continue doing the maintenance work.


The project was declared completed with the construction of a 1.7-kilometer bypass road and two-way concrete bridge on the route that skirted the Ambuclao dam and carved out of a steep ridge.


It was reported earlier that President Arroyo was to preside over the turnover of the road project to the DPWH before she delivered her State-of-the-Nation Address (SoNA) last July, but this did not materialize.

Local officials said motorists have to negotiate carefully the highway at some stretches because of the many landslides that have not been removed.


The rehabilitation of the Benguet-Nueva Vizcaya Road is part of the Cordillera Road Improvement (CRIP) Program crafted by the Regional Development Council (RDC) some 20 years ago.


CRIP serves as a blueprint for the development of the road networks in the Cordillera Region which are intended to help spur economic development in the rural areas in the region.

__________________________________________________________________________


real estate central philippines
Copyright ©2008-2020