The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) has completed almost 12,000 kilometers of road projects in two years.
At the Infrastructure Development and Energy Security session of the post-State of the Nation Address discussions on Wednesday, DPWH presented the significant progress made from July 2022 to May 2024.
A total of 11,945 km of road projects have been completed which comprises 4,953 km of new bypasses, diversion roads and missing links; preventive maintenance that spans 2,524 km; rehabilitation and upgrading of damaged paved roads which account for 1,788 km; and road widening at 941 km.
Also, a total of 1,673 km of roads were completed under DPWH’s convergence programs with other national government agencies which aim to further facilitate the development of an integrated land-air-sea transport network system that will have a significant impact on agriculture, trade, industry clusters, tourism development areas and micro, small and medium enterprises.
DPWH is working on 15,769 km of road projects.
One of its game-changing projects is the Luzon Spine Expressway Network (LSEN) program which aims to reduce travel time from Ilocos in the north to Bicol from 20 hours to nine hours once completed, DPWH said.
Part of the LSEN is San Miguel Holdings Corp.’s 59.4 km Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Expressway (TPLEX) Extension, which is on track to start partial operations in 2028.
TPLEX Extension aims to reduce travel time from Rosario to San Juan, La Union from one and a half hours to 40 minutes.
The 30 km Central Luzon Link Expressway Project Phase I is targeted to be finished this November. It is currently 98 percent complete.
Another priority project in Central Luzon is the 22 km Arterial Road Bypass (Plaridel) Project Phase III which aims to reduce travel time between Balagtas and San Rafael in Bulacan from 69 minutes to 24 minutes.
DPWH is also prioritizing the improvement and upgrading of the country’s main transportation artery, the Maharlika Highway, which spans 3,082 km.
Maharlika Highway plays a vital role in disaster response and relief efforts as it provides a primary means of transportation for emergency personnel, supplies and evacuees during natural disasters.
A total of P95.6 billion was allocated from 2022 to 2024 for the maintenance, rehabilitation, reconstruction, upgrading and widening of 367 bridges and 1,590 km of road sections along Maharlika Highway, DPWH said.
As of May, DPWH has completed 79 bridges and 399 km of road sections.
Budget allocation for the improvement and upgrading of Maharlika Highway has significantly increased by 159 percent, from P18.6 billion in 2022 to P48.2 billion in 2024, DPWH added.
Several high-impact bridge projects were also finished, DPWH said.
These include the P714-million Cansan-Bagutari Bridge Project in Isabela that was completed in May 2023; P375-million Minanga Bridge in Isabela in June 2023; P531-million San Pedro Bridge Project in Quirino in May 2023; P282-million widening of Lumintao Bridge in Occidental Mindoro in February 2024; P259.4-million Buhang Flyover in Iloilo City in May 2023; P379.5-million Jibao-an Flyover Project in Iloilo City in January 2024; P195-million Andanan Parallel Bridge Project in Agusan del Sur in September 2023; and the P300.39-million C-5 Quirino Flyover in Las Piñas which was completed in March 2024.
