Concrete paving along Bacolod North Road eases mobility and service delivery

Transportation mobility along Bacolod North Road, specifically in San Carlos City in Negros Occidental is smoother and faster with the widened road provided by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).

Undertaken by DPWH-Negros Occidental Sub-District Engineering Office, the ₱36.52-million project funded under the District’s FY 2023 General Appropriations Act (GAA), the improvement project involves paving with 30-millimeter Portland Concrete Cement Pavement (PCCP) along the existing pavement to provide a safer and more resilient road.

With the current accomplishment of roughly 81 percent, the project is expected to be completed in October this year.

In a report submitted by OIC-District Engineer Juan Alfonso Jorbina, Sr., OIC-Regional Director Sanny Boy O. Oropel said the concrete road will ensure convenient travel and faster mobility, especially for trucks and other vehicles carrying goods and services.

“The improvement of this existing road section will hasten mobility and ease traffic flow along the main highway to the city proper, which will facilitate faster and timely transport and delivery of goods and services to the people,” OIC-RD Oropel said.

“Roads make a crucial contribution to economic development and growth and bring important social benefits. They are of vital importance in order to make a nation grow and develop,” RD Oropel added.

Director Oropel further said that improving road networks will provide access to employment, social, health, and education services making a road network crucial in fighting against poverty. Roads open up more areas and stimulate economic and social development. For those reasons, road infrastructure is the most important of all public assets.

Meanwhile, OIC-DE Juan Alfonso Jorbina, Sr. disclosed that the project also includes the improvement of a bridge, the construction of a double-barrel reinforced concrete box culvert (RCBC), and the provision of safety and warning devices.

“The double-barrel RCBC will allow the effective utilization of the existing box culvert, which significantly contributes to the improvement of the drainage system in the city,” OIC-DE Jorbina said.

“A more efficient drainage system increases the city’s resistance to flood, preventing possible damage to lives and properties of the people due to natural calamities and disasters,” Jorbina added.

Other than faster mobility and convenient travel, this road improvement facilitates easier transport of local goods and services, boosting local trade and economic development of San Carlos City and neighboring cities and towns. (DPWH)