KENNON Road in Benguet will remain temporarily closed to motorists.
During a meeting on Thursday, August 13, 2020, the Cordillera Regional Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council (CRDRRMC) Inter-Agency Task Group Kennon Road unanimously decided to continue the temporary closure of Kennon.
However, Kennon will be open to residents only while the five-ton limit for vehicles or trucks passing the road will continue as per the recommendation of the Department of Public Works and Highways–Cordillera Administrative Region (DPWH-CAR) and the Benguet 1st District Engineering Office.
Kennon Road, as long as the weather permits, is used for the transportation of basic necessities and Covid-19 response operations for Cordillera, such as medicine, relief goods, personal protective equipment, food supplies, among others, with a five-ton limit still implemented.
CRDRRMC chairperson Albert Mogol, also the regional director of the Office of the Civil Defense–CAR, assured the inter-agency task group is working on interventions to ensure the safety and security along Kennon Road for the general public.
DPWH-CAR last year proposed P38 billion for the full rehab of Kennon.
The proposed full rehabilitation will cover rock netting, construction of a viaduct, tunneling system and a sabo dam at the demonstration dam, which will make it passable to all vehicles even during inclement weather.
Kennon Road has been in a close-open situation after the 1990 earthquake, which disturbed its slopes and making it vulnerable to landslides, especially during heavy rains.
For several years, the road is immediately closed when two hours of non-stop heavy rains occur. (SunStar Baguio)