EASING TRAFFIC FLOW. Tuba town police chief, Inspector James Acod, examine an area of Marcos Highway in the Cordillera, as workers of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) do repair works at the accident-prone section of the road in Sitio Badiwan, Barangay Poblacion, Tuba Benguet. The Tuba police starts implementing on July 9 a “no parking” policy on both sides of this part of Marcos Highway. (Photo courtesy of Tuba Police)
TUBA, Benguet -- An improvement in the traffic flow along Marcos Highway in Cordillera, especially on the three-kilometer stretch leading to Baguio City from Sitio Badiwan to Sitio Kadmangan in Barangay Poblacion here, was observed on Monday, the first day of the implementation of a new traffic scheme.
The Tuba town police have implemented "no parking on both sides of the road" rule, starting from the Marcos Highway viaduct in Sitio Badiwan to Sitio Kadmangan, the boundary separating Tuba town and Baguio.
Prone to accidents and traffic jams, this part of the highway has seen the worst situations in the past weeks with the temporary closure of the 33-kilometer Kennon Road due to a series of rain-caused landslides in this northern part of the country.
Only vehicles transporting residents are allowed to pass Kennon Road.
“Kennon road remains closed to traffic due to land and rock slides brought by intermittent rains. However, residents of Camps 1 to 8 are allowed to pass through,” Tuba Police head Chief Inspector James Acod said Monday.
On Monday, Acod led the clearing of parked trucks and other heavy equipment vehicles at the accident-prone area along Marcos Highway.
The chief cop said the new road rule on Marcos Highway is effective daily.
Under the new scheme, light vehicles going up to Baguio through Marcos Highway will have to use the Tubao junction (La Union) towards Asin Road and exit Barangay San Roque in Baguio City, beside the Baguio City Police Office (BCPO) station 1, and vice versa.
All buses and trucks will be allowed to go up using Marcos Highway.
Acod said the immediate implementation of the scheme was anchored on the prevailing bad weather, road accidents, and traffic jams along Marcos Highway, especially at the slide area after the fly-over, where accidents usually occur due to difficulty in ascending the steep slope.
Acod further explained that in cases of traffic jams, accidents, and bad weather condition, trucks, cargo trucks, and other heavy vehicles passing through Marcos Highway would be temporarily stopped at Badiwan viaduct, where a staging area is provided, before these are allowed to proceed.
The new traffic scheme, he added, is also aligned with Baguio's truck ban.
Under Baguio's truck ban, cargo trucks and other heavy equipment vehicles are not allowed to pass through Marcos Highway from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. and from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m.
“I have ordered our policemen to sustain their efforts in clearing that portion of the road to allow the smooth flow of traffic and avoid a traffic jam,” Tuba Mayor Ignacio Rivera said, urging truckers to follow traffic laws or face penalties.
He also called on truckers, especially chicken dung traders or transporters, to police their ranks.
Rivera said a 10-ton towing truck is ready for use 24/7 specifically for stalled vehicles and trucks.
In a related development, the League of Associations of La Trinidad Vegetable Trading Area, Inc. wrote the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) in Cordillera, urging the agency to introduce some improvements along Marcos Highway, especially by scraping and putting rubberized painting at the slippery portions of the road.
“Numerous accidents had occurred at the said highway, specifically along the stretch of Badiwan, claiming a number of lives, damage to properties, and massive losses on businesses. Aside from discipline issues among drivers, most accidents were reported to have been caused by the slippery road everytime it rains or if wet, and some, because of its steepness,” the group said in its letter.
Some 1.2 million kilograms of assorted highland vegetables from La Trinidad Vegetable Trading Post are transported to Metro Manila and nearby areas using Marcos Highway, according to the group. (PNA)
