Thursday, August 21, 2008 Bypass road to ease traffic in La Union By Rodrigo dela Peña
SAN FERNANDO CITY, La Union -- With La Union identified as a key growth center in Northern Luzon by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) will soon be unveiling the San Fernando Bypass Road Extension, a project designed to ease the flow of traffic along the national highway encompassed by the city.
Proposed by Governor Manoling Ortega when he was still a member of the House of Representatives and now being completed under the current term of Representative Victor Ortega, the two-lane concrete road will run 4.2-kilometers, parallel to the National Highway, and will connect with the existing San Fernando Bypass Road and Manila North Road at Barangay Ili Sur, San Juan, La Union.
Costing P130 million, the project is scheduled to be completed next year.
La Union First Engineering District Engineer Elpidio Paragas said the San Fernando Bypass Road Extension will decongest traffic from the main highway and improve the infrastructure linkage within the city and the province, consequently promoting social and economic development of the locality.
The new road traverses various barangays, including Biday, Bancusay, Naguituban, Urbiztondo and Ili Sur.
The project also incorporates the construction of the Bancusay Bridge, an 18- lineal-meter reinforced concrete deck girder bridge, which is scheduled to be completed by October.
Spurred by multi-billion-peso investments such as the Thunderbird Resorts, Philippines Long Distance Company (PLDT)'s international cable landing station and the ongoing Globe Telecom underground Fiber Optic Cable installation along the Manila North Road and San Fernando Bypass Road, La Union's economy has seen rapid growth.
This is especially evident in San Fernando City, as it recently garnered the award for being the Most Competitive Small-Sized City nationwide, despite the global economic slowdown.
The presence of numerous, well-known beach resorts and recreational facilities within the province make the area a popular destination of local and international tourists.
"With the San Fernando Bypass Road Extension, motorists can travel in a safe and convenient manner, ensuring satisfaction among our stakeholders, through our thriving city and province," said Paragas.
