The country’s expressway network is targeted to increase by around 1,300 kilometers with the construction of several road projects from Ilocos all the way to Bicol region during the Marcos administration, according to the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).
Maria Catalina Cabral, DPWH undersecretary for planning and public-private partnership services, said in her speech at the recent Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry forum DPWH targets to increase the country’s high standard highways and expressways from the current 510 km. to more than 1,816 km. during this administration.
Part of the master plan is the Luzon Spine Expressway which involves the construction of 1,213 km. of expressway in Luzon — to the north all the way to Ilocos traveling through Metro Manila and finishing all the way to Bicol.
Once this project is completed, travel time from Ilocos to Bicol will be reduced from 20 to 24 hours to just about nine to 10 hours, Cabral said.
“We have the blueprint, your government has a blueprint. We are engaging not only the private sector, we are also coordinating with official development assistance to implement this game-changing project,” she added.
Expanding the country’s highway and expressway network will lessen the population concentration in urban areas and give way to regional development, she noted.
“We have to decongest urban centers so that people will go back to the provinces and regions. We have to develop and ensure that there are jobs in the region and countryside,” she said.
The project includes the Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Expressway extension, Camarines Sur Expressway, Arterial (Plaridel) Bypass Road Phase 3 which involves widening of the road, Central Luzon Expressway, Southeast Metro Manila Expressway, North Luzon Expressway-South Luzon Expressway Connector Road, Cavite-Laguna Expressway, among others.
Meanwhile, to address traffic congestion in urban centers, particularly in Metro Manila, Davao, Cebu, Metro Iloilo and Cagayan de Oro, DPWH said it is focusing on improving and expanding the national road by building bypass and diversion roads, high standard highways and expressways.
In addition, DPWH will pursue the rehabilitation of two bridges in Metro Manila. “We are ready and prepared to start strengthening and retrofitting two more bridges…the Guadalupe Bridge and Edsa,” Cabral said.
“We will make sure we will coordinate with the DOTr (Department of Transportation) and MMDA (Metropolitan Manila Development Authority) so that the impact of traffic management will be tolerable. We need to rehabilitate Guadalupe Bridge because it’s already more than 50 years old,” she added.
