NEW ROAD. The ongoing works for the Tacloban City Bypass Road Extension in this Nov. 23, 2023 photo. The Department of Public Works and Highways needs at least PHP17.71 billion to complete the project. (Photo courtesy of Bbtart's D Wanderer)
TACLOBAN CITY – The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) needs at least PHP17.71 billion to complete the Tacloban City Bypass Road Extension.
The proposed 33-kilometer (km) six-lane road, designed to connect this city to nearby Babatngon town, got PHP2.33 billion in funding since 2018 and will get PHP1.56 billion next year, said DPWH Eastern Visayas regional director Edgar Tabacon.
“We are building a six-lane road in anticipation of increasing traffic leading to our future international port,” Tabacon said in an interview Tuesday.
The allotment from 2018 to 2023 allowed the opening and concreting of the 1.64 km road section.
Tabacon said the PHP1.56-billion allotment for 2024 will open and concrete a 3.2-kilometer section of the new highway.
The proposed additional funds starting in 2025, sourced from the national government for inclusion in the DPWH annual budget, will cover works for the remaining 31.36 kilometers of the highway.
The new highway eyed to decongest traffic along the Tacloban-Babatngon Road going to the city’s downtown, reducing travel time from 1.5 hours to only 45 minutes once completed.
It involves the construction of a concrete road, a drainage system, road slope protection and three bridges.
The road is an extension of the PHP1.12-billion Tacloban Bypass Road, completed in early 2022 after seven years of construction.
The 6.405-km. bypass road involved a road opening, including a four-lane and a six-lane roadway; construction of drainage; and slope protection structures. It starts in Nula-Tula village and ends in Caibaan village in this city. (PNA)
