The concreting of the access road leading to the Ganano Falls in Diffun, Quirino has been completed,the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) said Sunday.
The DPWH said locals and visitors will now have "easier travel" to the tourist destination.
"As part of DPWH’s support to our country’s tourism sector, we prioritize to provide easier access to various declared tourism destinations to boost the industry allowing growth brought by the influx of visitors,” DPWH Secretary Mark Villar said.
According to the DPWH, the recently completed 540-meter section of the access road supplements the 1.02-kilometer portion that was paved last year by DPWH Quirino District Engineering Office (DEO).
Funded under the General Appropriations Act (GAA) of 2020, this year’s P20-million project involved the construction of a two-lane concrete road with inclusion of slope protection structures and installation of reflectorized thermoplastic pavement markings for additional safety of the commuting public.
The concreting of the access road was implemented under DPWH’s Convergence and Special Support Program (CSSP) known as the Tourism Road Infrastructure Program (TRIP) in partnership with the Department of Tourism (DoT).
The Tourism Road Infrastructure Program is aligned with the strategic direction of National Tourism Development Plan to improve access and connectivity to tourism gateways, service centers, and tourism sites.
Meanwhile, the DPWH said it is working to complete the upgrading of the damaged road on the Ayaga (Abulug)-Ballesteros-Aparri Road (JABAR Section) Junction in Ballesteros, Cagayan with only some remaining refinements needed to be done.
Villar said that two kilometers of road network have been improved since the project started civil works in June 2019.
“The newly-improved road network is expected to ease the commute in the area by providing a more convenient and safer road for the residents and those passing by Ballesteros, Cagayan,” he said.
In her report to Villar, District Engineer Lorna B. Asuten of the DPWH Cagayan 2nd District Engineering Office (DEO) said that aside from ensuring road safety and mobility to the travelling public, the rehabilitation of the road is also seen to hasten the delivery of goods and services to the nearby town of Aparri’s West District.
Funded under the GAA of 2019, the P55.51-million rehabilitation project also included the provision of shoulder paving and construction of drainage structures to heighten motorists’ safety.