P738-M Ilocos-Sagada road on track to open by 2026

The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) is close to completing half of a P738-million project that seeks to connect Ilocos Sur to the Mountain Province.

In an update, DPWH regional director Ronnel Tan said the agency has completed 43 percent of the Ilocos Sur segment of the Cervantes-Besao-Sagada Road, putting it on schedule to be opened by 2026.

Tan said the project has managed to gain momentum with the assurance of a P250-million budget from the 2024 General Appropriations Act.

“We have received funding annually for the Ilocos Sur segment of the Cervantes-Besao-Sagada Road since 2020, hence its implementation is right on track. If this continues, and good weather persists, we will be able to utilize this segment by 2026, if not by the end of 2025,” Tan said.

The segment of the project in Ilocos Sur covers 11.96 kilometers, stretching between Barangay Patungcaleo and Patiacay in the municipality of Quirino. The project includes concrete pavement, drainage systems, slope protection, among others.

The DPWH has received P540 million for the project since 2020: P100 million in 2020, P20 million in 2021, P30 million in 2022, P140 million in 2023 and P250 million in 2024.

For 2025, the DPWH will request the government for an allocation of P198 million to complete the remaining civil works for the project.

In its completion, the road will provide travelers with a linkage between Ilocos Sur and Mountain Province through the municipality of Besao.

Further, the DPWH completed the upgrade of an access road in San Fernando City, Pampanga to improve the mobility in its economic districts. DPWH regional director Roseller Tolentino said the agency has completed the rehabilitation of the Dolores-Del Carmen-Bulaon Road.

The road, located in Barangay Del Carmen, is used by motorists as an alternate route to Angeles City. Travelers also pass through the road when heading to the Clark Freeport Zone.

The DPWH improved the off-carriageway and installed drainages in select sections of the Dolores-Del Carmen-Bulaon Road, spending P39.2 million for the delivery of the project.

With the enhancement, the DPWH hopes to promote the road as an alternate thoroughfare to the Jose Abad Avenue and Manila North Road, both suffering from traffic congestion.