Road to lake in Ormoc to be redirected to protect forest

Almost a kilometer of a 4.4-kilometer road in Ormoc City leading to Lake Janagdan will be redirected to avoid affecting trees, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) said.

The road will realigned so that it will no longer pass through timberlands, District Engineer Lino Francisco Gonzalez, of DPWH Leyte Fourth District Engineering Office (DEO) said.

The realignment of a 900-meter section of the Milagro-CambantogCabingtan-Alto Peak Road Improvement and Construction Project was decided following a series of meetings with the Department of Tourism (DOT), Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Ormoc local government, and non-governmental organizations, according to Gonzales.

“DENR confirmed that the new road alignment will only affect five small trees and a number of dead tree stumps that have been damaged by Typhoon Yolanda,” he said.

It is necessary that infrastructure projects be carried out without causing adverse long-term effects on the environment, given DPWH’s commitment to sustainable development, he said.

The access road to Lake Janagdan is part of the R159-million joint project of the DPWH and DOT to build or improve access roads leading to tourism destinations in Ormoc.

The project also involves slope protection, and reflectorized thermoplastic pavement markings.

The road will end at the foot of the hill leading to Lake Janagdan where the local government of Ormoc is planning to create a staging area for tourists.