P1.5B airport access road to start in November
BACOLOD CITY – Construction of the P1.5 billion access road from New Bacolod-Silay Airport to La Herencia Subdivision Brgy. Bata, Bacolod City will start by the first or second week of November, Department of Public Works and Highways Engr. Sonny Boy Oropel said.
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo led the ground breaking of the access road project last October 1, 2008 in her visit to the province when she officially opened the 29thMasskara Festival.
Arroyo released an initial amount of P200 million from the 2008 DPWH Infrastructure Fund wherein P125 million will be used for the first phase clearing and P75 million for land-owners.
Oropel said the DPWH 1stEngineering District has no direct hand on the project except to supervise the implementation since everything was ironed-out in the central office and the Office of the President. What they did two years ago was to conduct consultation with the stakeholders for the road-right-of-way. Oropel had seen no problem with the stakeholders, though some are complaining for the very low zonal valuation of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR).
"The zonal valuation is ranging from P20 to P40 per square meter because of its agricultural classification," Oropel added. Out of 47 affected land-owners, 44 signed the Permit to Enter while the remaining 3 could not be reached because they lived in Metro Manila but this is not a big deal.
His office recommended to central office to set aside P75 million for the stakeholders and maybe for expropriation.
Oropel also justified some issues raised like some quarters called it as the"Golden Road" because of the P1.5 billion cost for only 10.12 kilometer road.
He is amenable if it is only a mere road and to be developed from the existing one, it's really too high but gives emphasis to the concept of "new", never developed and never been touched property for road construction traversing the haciendas from Bacolod to the new airport.
The budget would include excavations and fillings to meet the standards as well six bridges and seven intersections which according to Oropel, very expensive.
Same bridges will be constructed similar to what is found in the coastal road and major intersections would be situated in airport's junction, Talisay Concepcion Road and Talisay San Fernando Road.
"The plan is to provide good intersections introducing divided-lanes to decongest traffic passing at the same time in the said road sections," Oropel added.
The project is under the Project Management Office of the DPWH where Persan Construction Corporation won the bidding last August 2008 with the duration of 18 months or to finish before the 2010 elections.
Oropel is thankful to both Bacolod Lone District Congressman Monico Puentevella and 3rdDistrict Congressman Jose Carlos Lacson for realizing the project because it has a big help to decongest the Bacolod North Road.
"Let's give this project a chance and be vigilant because this is for us Negrense who will directly benefit it," Oropel appealed.