CITY OF SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga – A 36.925-kilometer access road that will connect the towns of San Jose in Tarlac and Palauig in Zambales is expected to boost the two provinces’ eco-tourism industry and help them recover from the economic effects of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic.
Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Tarlac 1st District Engineer Erelina Santos said on Tuesday the PHP2.34-billion project is targeted to be completed and opened to the motoring public by 2022.
“This project that was started in 2018 is a multi-year undertaking being implemented into phases. Right now, the contractor is opening a new road segment as we work on completing all construction activities at the Tarlac section of the bypass that will shorten the travel time between Tarlac and the Zambales,” Santos said in a statement.
For this year, she said they are set to implement a 3.603-kilometer road opening and a two-lane concreting over a length of 13.395 kilometers of the bypass road’s Tarlac section.
Completed were the 11.12-kilometer road opening and two-lane concreting of road undertaken in 2018.
In 2019, the four-kilometer road opening was done while the 18.097-kilometer road opening and the construction of a 105-meter bridge started in 2020.
“We are optimistic that the remaining unfunded length of this major highway will be completed as planned,” she added. (PNA)
