Provincial environment and natural resources officer Raul Mamac said most of the trees to be affected will not be destroyed but will be earthballed for transfer to designated sites.
Earth-balling is a process of digging full-grown trees to their roots for replanting to other sites.
He said some will only be trimmed so as not to affect electric and telephone lines and avoid from falling down and cause accidents along the highway.
Mamac said that there should not be too much worry for a few trees to be destroyed. For each damaged tree, it will be replaced with 100 seedlings to be planted by members of religious and civic organizations, government employees and school children, the Penro said.
Carlos Pizarro, Jr., general manager of the Metro Bataan Development Authority (MBDA), said less than 1,000 trees will be affected but many of which would be earthballed.
MBDA was created by the provincial government of Bataan to oversee activities in the Roman Expressway spanning from Layac in Dinalupihan to Hermosa, Orani, Samal, Abucay, Balanga City, Pilar, Orion, Limay and Mariveles.
Erlindo Flores, district engineer of the Department of Public Works and Highways, has said that about 700 trees will be affected in 18 kilometers of the expressway that will be widened in the first district.
Engr. Katrina Magbual, Engineer II in the second district, said about 4,375 trees will be affected in the 39 kilometer- portion of the second district, all within the 15-meter right of way on each side of the road.
The two engineers placed the total number of trees to be affected by the rehabilitation project at about 5,075 trees with diameters of the tree trunk from 0.2 to 1.5 meters.
A member of the DPWH team that made the inventory said most of the trees are of narra, acacia and eucalyptus specie planted sometime in the 1970s.
Engineers said the project calls for turning the four-lane highway into six lanes with funding estimated at P3.8 billion. Rest and parking areas with adequate lights along the highway will be provided plus close monitoring by MBDA for safety of travelers 24/7.
Both sides of the highway will have adequate drainage, shoulder road, pedestrian overpasses, and unloading zones, they said.
“The rehabilitation of the expressway is a must to catch up with the fast pace of economic development going on in the province due to its favorable peace and order condition,” Pizarro said.
