The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) is focused on the implementation of major expressways and bridges from 2023 to 2028 to address traffic congestion in major key cities in the country.
DPWH is on track to increase the country’s high standard highways and expressways from 510 kilometers to 1,816 km based on the High Standard Highway Master Plan Phases 1 and 2 in the next five years, Maria Catalina Cabral, DPWH undersecretary, said in her presentation at the European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines event yesterday.
“The long-held problem of traffic gridlock, specially in major thoroughfares, has always been a problem for all Filipinos and foreign visitors, so the traffic congestion program focuses on the improvement of the national road network which, by the way, comprises around 15 percent of the entire Philippines’ road network,” Cabral said.
From July to December 2022, DPWH built over 1,500 road projects while about 161 bridges were constructed, rehabilitated, widened or upgraded, and more than 851 flood control projects were done.
This year, DPWH has been given the highest budget of over P900 billion which will be used for the construction of bridges, flood control projects and expressways, among others.
To date, DPWH has 27 expressway projects under the Luzon Spine Expressway Network program of which 12 are already completed, seven are ongoing construction and eight projects are pending approval.
Among the projects for implementation are the Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Expressway Extension, Dalton Pass East, Cavite-Tagaytay-Batangas Expressway, the P22.6-billion South Luzon Expressway Toll Road 5 and the P21-billion Central Luzon Link Expressway Phase 2, among others.
DPWH projects in the pipeline include the P94.07-billion Metro Cebu Expressway Segment 1 and a portion of Segment 3, scheduled to be completed from 2024 to 2031; Davao City Coastal Road; and the P46.8-billion Davao City Bypass project which is targeted to be completed by 2027.
Other major bridge projects include the P175.7-billion Bataan-Cavite Interlink Bridge which will be complete by the fourth quarter of 2029, P76.4-billion Cebu-Mactan fourth bridge and coastal road construction project scheduled for completion in 2028, P12.8-billion second San Juanico Bridge to be implemented from 2025 to 2028, and the P187.5-billion Panay-Guimaras Negros Island Bridges project.
Meanwhile, DPWH is expected to finish the P12.6-billion Manila-Cavite Toll Expressway (C-5 South Link Expressway) this year, while the P35.7-billion Cavite-Laguna Expressway will be fully complete by 2024.
The North Luzon Expressway Connector Road will be finished by year-end. – Myla Iglesias
