DPWH chief opens Laguna highway

MORE than half of the 10.7-kilometer Laguna Lake Highway, formerly known as C-6 Dike Road, has been opened to the public to help decongest traffic in Metro Manila and nearby provinces, according to the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).

DPWH Secretary Mark Villar opened an additional 1.5-kilometer at the eastbound portion of the highway, from the Hagonoy Flood Gate in Taguig City to ML Quezon Avenue, extending the serviceable road to six kilometers.

‘’The opening of this additional Laguna Lake Highway segment will encourage more motorists to take this faster route from Taytay Rizal to Bicutan, Taguig,” Villar said.

When completed, Laguna Lake Highway will reduce travel time from Taytay to Bicutan from one hour to only about 30 minutes. It will serve as an alternative road to the congested Epifanio delos Santos Avenue (EDSA) and Circumferential Road 5 (C5) when going to and from Rizal and the eastern corridor of Metro Manila.

from EDSA and C5 will be greatly reduced,” added Villar.

The highway will also serve as a dike that will protect residents of

The P1.2289 billion road project covers the construction or widening of two bridges, rehabilitation or concreting of existing 10.2 kilometers of asphalt road with provision of additional two lanes, and two-meter wide planting strips and three-meter bike lane.

Villar said the Laguna Lake the Philippines to have a 3-meter wide space for bikers and joggers.

“In a study by World Health Organization, 19% of those who die in road accidents in the Philippines are pedestrians,” Villar noted. “In building the road network in the Philippines, it is important that we also put in place more pedestrian infrastructure. This will not only happen in Luzon but also in Visayas and Mindanao.”