03/12/2009 [ tribune.net.ph ]
The Department of Public Works and Highways announced yesterday that road improvement work in the Quezon Province portion of Quirino Highway is substantially completed by the DPWH-Quezon 4th District Engineering Office.
In a report to DPWH Secretary Hermogenes Ebdane Jr., District Engineer Ronnel Tan said about 25.556 kilometers of the total 29.787-kilometer Quirino Highway-Quezon Province portion have been concrete paved.
He said the remaining work to be done on the highway involves concreting of some four kilometers of intermittent asphalt sections and slope protection works on segments with road slips.
DPWH has increased the thickness of the road to 12 inches to enable it to withstand the ever-increasing vehicular load passing along the highway.
Tan said about eight road sections with deep cliffs would also undergo slope-protection work under their proposed CY 2010 infrastructure program to prevent road cuts as well as reblocking of damaged pavement caused by the overloaded passing vehicles.
The improvement of Quirino Highway is also in support of the government’s program for peace and development in conflict-affected areas.
Construction of Quirino Highway started in 1994 and it was opened to traffic in 1998, cutting travel time from Manila to Bicol and vice versa. Mina Diaz
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