AMID the persistent complaints of motorists and requests of concerned local government units (LGU), the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) is finally set to rehabilitate damaged portions of MacArthur Highway.
In a phone interview with Sun.Star Pampanga, DPWH First District Engineering officer-in-charge Almer Miranda said the rehabilitation of the heavily deteriorated portions of the major thoroughfare stretching from Sto. Tomas town to Apalit town will start before the end of November.
Since the onset of rainy days in August, floodwaters on MacArthur Highway particularly at the CDCP junction in San Simon have become stagnant, causing huge potholes and craters which have since been the subject of motorists’ complaints.
He disclosed that he already gave an order to the agency’s maintenance department to conduct an ocular inspection of the site, particularly at the CDCP junction in Barangay Sta. Monica in San Simon town.
“The problem in the area was the slow subsiding of floodwaters. We cannot implement the groundwork because the road is still soaked with floodwaters. In fact, we initially conducted patching-up of potholes as early as September but was already worn down by the floodwaters so the resources used were only wasted,” he explained.
To avoid such incidents, Miranda said they had to wait for the water to completely subside before the DPWH can implement the rehabilitation process which would include scraping off and resetting of deteriorated asphalt overlay.
“Our personnel from the maintenance department who checked on the situation told me that the water level is already low so I already issued an order to immediately conduct necessary and applicable measures to alleviate the situation,” he said.
In the meantime, Miranda said they will only patch up potholes and craters to ease the deteriorated condition of the road due to lack of resources for the project.
The total reconstruction and upgrading of the road is listed among the priority projects for the year 2019, with an allocation incorporated in the national budget of the DPWH, Miranda said.
Miranda assured motorists and commuters as well as affected municipalities that the DPWH is working to rectify the situation and ensure the convenience of road users.