THE Department Public Works and Highways (DPWH) said residents from the remote areas in Ilog town now have easier access to basic government services with the improvement of local road in the southern Negros Occidental locality.
The agency, in a statement, said that the road improvement by DPWH - Negros Occidental Third District Engineering Office comprises two road sections with the collective length of 695 lineal meters amounting to P9.9 million.
The first section, with the length of 472.1 lineal meters, is part of the local road network of Ilog to Kabankalan City through the latter’s Barangay Tapi.
The Section 2, meanwhile, measuring 222.8 lineal meters long, is an access road to the neighboring barangay of Magballo also in Kabankalan City.
DPWH-Western Visayas said the project involves upgrading of the earth road to two-lane, six-meter wide concrete road to accommodate more vehicles, making the transportation more convenient.
It also includes provision of grouted riprap and stone masonry for slope protection, and guardrails for the safety of our motorists and the people residing in the area, it added.
DPWH - Western Visayas Regional Director Nerie Bueno, also in a statement, said these road sections connect Barangay Balicotoc in Ilog town to the neighboring barangays of Tapi and Magballo, which are access roads to Kabankalan City.
“With this paved road, delivery of services and products is easier, faster and less costly,” he said, adding that “this (road) also provides access from the highland areas of Ilog going to Kabankalan City and Candoni town thereby making local trade more accessible.”
For his part, Barangay Balicotoc chairman Mark Joseph Valenciano said the road concreting project is beneficial in easing their mobility and transport of agricultural products from farms to the market.
He added that the concrete road will provide their residents and other commuters with a more convenient “short-cut” to Kabankalan City.
Considering its geographical location in mountainous areas, the road was once rugged and muddy due to recurrence of rain, making it hard for the people in transporting their farm products such as rice and corn and sugarcane, the regional line agency said.
Bueno said that with this improved road quality, the farmers will no longer endure long travel in transporting their goods to the market.
People in remote areas, he said, now have easy access to social and health services especially during emergency situations.
“This will also improve peace and order, reducing insurgency cases especially in far-flung areas in the province, hence people in the remote areas will feel more secure,” Bueno added. (With reports from DPWH-Western Visayas)