DPWH ramps up road improvements in Mimaropa

MANILA, Philippines  —Motorists in Oriental Mindoro can expect safer driving in the province as the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) has completed a P34-million road rehabilitation project on a 1.4-kilometer km paved corridor.

The DPWH said in a statement it had upgraded the Calapan South Road Junction-Minas Road in Victoria town.

The project, which was funded under the 2023 General Appropriations Act, also included the construction of road shoulders on both sides and application of reflectorized thermoplastic pavement markings.

“We cannot emphasize enough the importance of regular road maintenance, especially along national highways that serve thousands of commuters daily, these projects ensure the safety and convenience of all road users,” said Geralad Pacanan, director of DPWH in the Mimaropa region.

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Before the rehabilitation work, the DPWH also applied an 80-millimeter asphalt overlay on Calapan South Road, a crucial route for transportation of goods between Roxas’ town center and neighboring towns in Oriental Mindoro.

This P76.7-million project is seen to “attract more tourists by providing safer and more convenient travel going to the magnificent San Rafael Cave, the largest cave in Oriental Mindoro declared as safe by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.”

These road upgrades are among the latest moves by the DPWH to ramp up infrastructure projects in the region.

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Last year, the regional DPWH office completed the construction of a 3.6-km, two-lane access road leading to an ecotourism site in Barangay Salogon, Brooke’s Point, Palawan.

This earlier project “in the agri-tourism community of Sitio Tagpinasao is attracting more visitors while providing easier transport of local farm produce and fostering a stronger sense of community and shared prosperity in the area,” Pacanan said.

The project in Palawan also included provisions of drainage that can manage water run-off to prevent soil erosion.

Along with this, the DPWH paved a new farm-to-market road covering the barangays of New Barbacan and Minara in Roxas town, also in Palawan.