Public Works & Highways District Engr. Noli Alcantara has assured that all the road rehabilitation works in the 2nd District of Negros Oriental will be completed before September this year.
He gave this assurance in a press conference after some City Councilors in Dumaguete questioned the motive of the Department of Public Works & Highways in repairing, or destroying, otherwise good roads, causing untold inconvenience to the public.
Alcantara explained that a highway is marked for rehabilitation by engineers who monitor the road vibrations. “If the vibration is not good, it is marked for rehabilitation,” he said.
He said the upgrading of a road is necessary as the DPWH develops it to “pass international standards”.
Road projects in the 2nd District, Alcantara explained, are going on because the road from the Dumaguete port to the Bacolod port in the north, passing by Mabinay and Kabankalan City, is a priority project. He said it is the shortest way linking both ports.
This national road from Dumaguete to Bacolod is classified as “N1” (composed of three major road sections from Aparri to Jolo), or a main route/corridor that connects three or more cities.
For Negros Oriental, Alcantara said, the N1 projects happen to be located only within the 2nd District (from Dumaguete to Mabinay).
For now, he said, the project being done is the upgrading of pavements and road widening.
Drainage canals and street lights will be added soon, once the funds are available, similar to the roads in San Jose and Amlan, Alcantara said.
He also debunked speculations that the road projects are being undertaken due to political reasons.
“The role of the Congressman [in road rehab projects] is to lobby what he thinks his constituents need, and he will participate in the deliberations until the funding is [approved] in the national budget. Once the project is implemented by the DPWH, it will be free from political intervention or influence,” Alcantara said. (AP)
