The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) said on Monday, Jan. 30, that the P246.3 million access road project it built had provided a safer and more comfortable trip to the public by dramatically decreasing travel time in the route to a water falls in Almeria, Biliran.
“What used to be a one hour hike to Ulan-Ulan Falls, in Almeria, Biliran can now be reached in a five to 10 minute car ride and only five minute short trek with the completion of a paved access road,’’ the DPWH said in a statement.
DPWH Secretary Manuel M. Bonoan said that the 7.5-kilometer access road project started in 2018 and was implemented in five phases under the multi-year program which is now completed.
He noted that the access road project involves the construction of concrete pavement, drainage and slope protection structures, road widening and rehabilitation of existing concrete pavement from National Road Junction (NRJ) of Barangay Sabang, Naval, Biliran, traversing Barangay Tamarindo all the way to Barangay Sampao, in the municipality of Almeria.
DPWH regional Office 8 Director Edgar Tabacon stated that the local government of Almeria has recognized that the “booming tourism industry has helped not just small and medium enterprise owners, but also priority beneficiaries consisting of single parents and students, as well as an estimated number of 5,000 residents from the three barangays.’’
“Aside from boosting tourism, the road project also facilitates safer and faster transport of agricultural products such as rice, copra, abaca, root-crops, fruits, and vegetables to the market centers in the progressive town of Naval and to nearby urban areas,” Bonoan said.