An access road linking areas in the Cordilleras and Cagayan Valley is now under construction to complete a billion-peso road project in Benguet, the Department of Public Works and Highways said.
An additional 5.3-kilometer slope protection and 1.1-kilometer road concreting project along Labey-Lacamen Road in Tublay, Benguet is now under way.
Public Works and Highways Secretary Mark Villar said it is part of a bigger road project, the Baguio-La Trinidad-Itogon-Sablan-Tuba-Tublay (BLISTT).
Villar said that the proposed 8.31-kilometer Labey-Lacamen Road also known as Tublay Section or Section 4A of BLISTT has received an allocation of P676.65 million in 2020 for the continuation of road concreting, slope protection, and road right-of-way acquisition.
“Since 2017, we have allocated a total of P1.12 billion to improve this section of BLISTT which will serve as an access road from the northern areas of the Cordilleras to Cagayan Valley Region via Benguet-Nueva Vizcaya Boundary Road and Baguio-Bontoc Road and,” the secretary said.
A total of 5.53 kilometers of the two-lane road was already completed in 2017 under a P124.62-million fund. This completed portion also covers a 1.28-kilometer slope protection, which was implemented under a 2018 budget costing P100 million.
“When completed, it will become an alternative road to Philippine Military Academy that bypasses the congested La Trinidad and Baguio City roads,” Villar said.
“It will likewise lead tourists from Region 2 to Atok Flower Gardens, Sagada Caves, and La Trinidad Strawberry Farms via Baguio-Bontoc Road,” he added.
Prior to the implementation of the project, the Labey-Lacamen Road is a local road which is a combination of gravel roads, one-lane paved roads, and earth roads.