Plaridel Bypass second phase to finish ahead of schedule
CONSTRUCTION of Phase II of the Plaridel Bypass Road is ahead of schedule and is expected to be completed in early 2018, off icials connected with the project said.
“The project will be completed on time... Package Four ( construction in San Rafael) will be completed ahead of time... Beginning of 2018, we’ll see,” said Gioseppe Mirabito, Plaridel Bypass Road project consultant from Switzerland’s Renardet S. A. Consulting Engineers during a media briefing.
The Plaridel Bypass is intended to decongest the Maharlika Highway by bypassing built-up areas in the Bulacan towns of Plaridel, Pulilan and Baliwag. The 24.61-kilometer road links the North Luzon Expressway (NLEx) in Balagtas, Bulacan to the Maharlika Highway in San Rafael, Bulacan, according to the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Web site.
It is designed to reroute traffic through largely agricultural areas in the towns of Balagtas, Guiguinto, Plaridel, Bustos and San Rafael.
The Maharlika Highway is also known as the Pan-Philippine Highway, and its northern stretches transit Bulacan through the Cagayan Valley, with the northern terminus in Laoag. Including ferry connections, the southern terminus is Zamboanga City.
The government is working on making the Plaridel Bypass accessible both ways as it can only be accessed coming from the south currently, even though the bypass “is intended for those going to Manila,” according to Floro O. Adviento, in- house consultant of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
Mr. Adviento said the project is expected to divert 40% of road traffic, equivalent to 15,000 vehicles, from the Pan- Philippine Highway.
Currently, the first phase of the project has been completed and was opened to the public in November 2012.
Meanwhile, construction is still ongoing for the second phase which is targeted to finish on July 11, 2018.
According to the DPWH, construction in San Rafael is 29.26% complete.
Once the entire project is opened to traffic, commuters will be able to save 45 to 50 minutes of travel time.
“There’s no extreme resistance,” said Mr. Adviento, adding that local government units are cooperative.
The project is being implemented by the DPWH and is mostly funded by JICA in loans amounting to P3.448 billion. The rest is funded by the Philippine government. —