CITY OF SAN FERNANDO – The construction of a P543-million bypass road in Plaridel, Bulacan has started in a bid to solve perennial “traffic overload” along a route traversed by trucks loaded with agricultural produce from Cagayan region to Metro Manila.
The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) said yesterday the bypass road will stretch 7.53 kilometers from Barangay Bulihan in Plaridel towards Bustos town. It is being rushed so that it could be finished within this month.
“The completion of the project will solve problems in traffic overload and delay in goods transport,” said DPWH undersecretary Rafael Yabut. The project was awarded to three firms, including M. Pancho Construction Inc., J.E. Manalo & Co., Inc., and D.M. Consunji Inc.
Yabut the said multi-million project is funded by a loan agreement between the Philippines and the Japan International Cooperation Agency, through the DPWH-Philippine Japan Highway Loan-Project Management Office and Katahira & Engineers International.
“The road will be built 30 millimeters thick, and seven meters wide with 2.50-meter wide shoulders on each side,” Yabut said.
He said the project covers the construction of “six pre-stressed concrete deck girder bridge and one reinforced concrete deck girder bridge with a total length of 241 meters.”
“Drainage facilities and slope protection will also be installed,” he added.
He said the project is being rushed so that it could be finished by the end of this month.
