By-pass road seen to decongest traffic in northern Iloilo

Travel time to various towns in northern Iloilo and the neighboring province of Capiz will soon be reduced by about 10 minutes when the construction of the Barotac Viejo By-pass Road is completed.

Undertaken by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Iloilo 3^rd District Engineering Office, the by-pass road is a multi-year project which started in 2021 and is expected to be completed and fully operational in 2025.

As reported by District Engineer (DE) Ricardo R. Gutierrez, DPWH 6 Regional Director Nerie D. Bueno said that the roughly 2.2-kilometer by-pass road has a total funding requirement of ₱770 million.

“An initial amount of ₱48.5 million funded under FY 2021 General Appropriations Act (GAA) was released to the District to jumpstart the construction. This year, an additional ₱100 million funded under FY 2022 GAA was approved to continue to implementation,” Bueno said.

“Given favorable weather conditions and available budget, we are hopeful that this by-pass road will be fully utilized by our motorists and the riding public,” Bueno added.

“Once completed, this by-pass road will serve as a diversion road to decongest heavy traffic along the town proper of Barotac Viejo. This will also serve as alternate connectors between the barangays of Natividad and San Roque, reducing travel time by about 10 minutes.”

“More significantly, this new road will ensure faster delivery of both agricultural and marine products to the market, providing more income among our farmers and fisherfolks. This will likewise provide shorter travel to various towns and tourist destinations in the northern tip of Iloilo province.”

Meanwhile, DE Ricardo R, Gutierrez said the project involves the construction of a Portland Concrete Cement Pavement (PCCP) road, cross drainage, grouted riprap, and stone masonry.

“We also include the provision of guard rails and reflectorized thermoplastic pavement markings to ensure the safety of our motorists especially at night and during the rainy season,” DE Gutierrez said.

Facing Guimaras and Negros islands, Barotac Viejo highly contributes to socio-economic development in northern Iloilo, hence the construction of this by-pass road is a vital contribution of the DPWH as it continues to provide quality infrastructure facilities and services to improve the life of every Filipino. (DPWH)