DAVAO CITY -- The Department of Public Works and Highways-11 announced on Tuesday, May 28, that the tunnel segment of the Davao City Bypass Construction Project (DCBCP) would be completed by September this year.

Speaking on the sidelines of the Kapihan sa Bagong Pilipinas at the DPWH-11 Regional Office here, DPWH-11 spokesperson Dean Ortiz said he was informed that only 300 meters remain to be excavated from both ends of the tunnels.
“The two tunnels account for just 4.6 kilometers of the total length. The two tunnels are the most challenging here…but all are taken care of,” Ortiz said, adding that the entire DCBCP, which will be completed by 2027, is hitting a significant progress rate.
According to the DPWH, the project is split into six contract packages - I-1, I-2, I-3, II-1, II-2, and II-3. The I-1 includes building a four-lane road, three bridge pairs, 12 box culverts, four intersections, two underpasses, two overpasses, and two tunnels.
DPWH has completed 49.43 percent of the project as of April 25, 2024, including tunnel civil works and bridge pier constructions. In package I-1, the north portal-northbound (1,888 meters long) is 84.29 percent complete, while the southbound (1,716 meters) is 76 percent complete.
In a press conference, DPWH-11 Director Juby Cordon said the DCBCP involves constructing a 45.5-kilometer bypass road starting in Barangay Sirawan in Toril, Davao City, and ending in Barangay J.P. Laurel in Panabo City.
Cordon said the project, which is 49.43 percent complete as of April, is a transformative initiative to alleviate congestion and enhance road connectivity for residents and commuters. She added that it would shorten travel time by more than one hour to 49 minutes via Maharlika Highway.
The bypasses and diversion roads are priority projects under the government’s Traffic Decongestion Program, which aims to increase road network capacity and expand the High Standard Highways and Expressways.
Based on the report from the DPWH-11, the agency is implementing 54 bypasses and diversion roads in the Davao region and has completed 77.487 kilometers from 2022 to April 2024. The agency is accelerating efforts to finish the country’s first long-distance mountain tunnel.