LOOKING at the map of Luzon, it is easy to understand the buildup of serious traffic problems in the provinces of Laguna, Batangas, and Quezon — problems that were non-existent in the 1960s up to the 1990s. With the economic boom of the Calabarzon region that surged in the 90s and onwards, coupled with the inevitable increase in population of the five premiere provinces that are adjacent to Metro Manila, the challenges in the traffic sector became very apparent.
Geography has shaped the movement of people in these towns. The long-standing traffic jams in Calamba and Los Baños, Laguna cannot be fully solved even if then Gov. Joey Lina implemented a road widening project in 1995-1998. It is because the place is spatially constrained by the Laguna Lake and Mt. Makiling, and there is just a narrow old highway connecting Laguna’s fourth district with the second and the first.
‘Studies on this project could
have been started during the time of Laguna Gov. E. R. Ejercito but because of strained relationship with President Pnoy Aquino, it hit an insurmountable snag.’
This is the reason why for decades, government and private urban planners have been studying the construction of a coastal thoroughfare connecting Los Baños and Bay towns to Muntinlupa City, Metro Manila via the Laguna de Bay.
Studies on this project could have been started during the time of Laguna Gov. E. R. Ejercito but because of strained relationship with President Pnoy Aquino, it hit an insurmountable snag.
Now with a chief executive who’s serious in his Build, Build, Build campaign, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) under Secretary Roger Mercado is ready to unveil the detailed engineering design of the new Laguna Lakeshore Road Network (LLRN) Project which is slated to begin in December.
The LLRN Project Phase 1 includes the construction of a 37.6-km, two-lane road that stretches from Calamba, Laguna, all the way to Bicutan.
The thoroughfare consists of an 11.8-km viaduct from Lower Bicutan to Muntinlupa and a 25.8-km onshore viaduct and embankment from Muntinlupa to Calamba. There will be eight interchanges, namely: Sucat, Alabang, Tunasan, San Pedro/Biñan, Santa Rosa, Cabuyao, and Calamba.
Fast-tracked action on this ambitious project was due to the efforts of Secretary Mercado, former DPWH secretary Mark Villar, and Undersecretary for Unified Project Management office Emil K. Sadain and their staff. They should be cited for taking on the challenge of solving the decades-old vehicular traffic woes of Laguna and Calabarzon.
