[av_one_full first min_height=” vertical_alignment=” space=” custom_margin=” margin=’0px’ padding=’0px’ border=” border_color=” radius=’0px’ background_color=” src=” background_position=’top left’ background_repeat=’no-repeat’ animation=”]
[av_heading heading=’Economic Highway seenas ‘biggest single infra’ ‘ tag=’h3′ style=’blockquote modern-quote’ size=” subheading_active=’subheading_below’ subheading_size=’15’ padding=’10’ color=” custom_font=”]
BY MAE SINGUAY
[/av_heading]
[av_textblock size=” font_color=” color=”]
BACOLOD City – The proposed 21-kilometer Bacolod Economic Highway will be the “biggest single infrastructure project” here, said Mayor Evelio Leonardia.
Most of the areas it will cover have “no economic life” except for agricultural plantations and are “untouched,” said Leonardia.
“Once the highway is built, everything will follow,” he said. “We call it ‘Bacolod Economic Highway’ because we see its economic impact.”
The local District Engineering Office of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH)conducted aforum on the project.
Around 100 landowners who will be affected by the project attended, Rep. Greg Gasataya said.
“After this, we will have a series of meetings where the DPWH will discuss with the individual landowners which portion of their lot will be affected,” he said.
An 8-meter thoroughfare, the Bacolod Economic Highway will have a service road, a bicycle lane and a jogging lane.
It will open a “new growth area” and “tremendously” improve the flow of traffic, said Gasataya.
The highway will cut through nine barangays from Barangay Sum-ag to Barangay Bata.
The landowners need not worry about compensation. Existing policies fast-track payment for road right-of-way affected by government projects, said Gasataya.
The congressman hopes the project starts in 2017.
The DPWH central office will fund the project, said Assistant District Engineer Leah Jamero.
Conceptualized in 2009, the “multiyear” project was included in the medium-term public investment program of the Public Works department, Jamero said./PN
[/av_textblock]
[/av_one_full]
