DPWH constructs 41-km Panay East-West Lateral road

To provide better access to certain provinces in Western Visayas, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPHW) has started constructing a 41-kilometer road that connects the provinces of Antique, Central and Northern Iloilo, and Capiz in Panay Island.

Called the Panay East-West Lateral road, the project has a budget allocation of P2.6 billion. It will be a 20-meter-wide road, which is consisted of bridges and slope protection. When completed, it will cut the two and a half hour-travel time from Central Iloilo to Antique and vice versa to just two hours. DPWH claims that the road project is expected to be completed in 2020 and would benefit approximately 300 motorists every day. 

The Panay East-West Lateral Road is part of DPWH's multi-year program which includes road openings along Bugasong-Valderrama Road Section in Antique and Lambunao-Inca Road Section in Iloilo. An initial budget of P760 million has been allocated for the said road openings in 2017. This will be reinforced by additional budgets of P150 million and P145 million this fiscal year for each section. 

Aside from chopping down travel time, the Panay East-West Lateral Road is designed to boost tourism and improve agricultural productivity in certain communities in the region. This said, logistics of perishable goods will no longer be a problem as delivery trucks may now easily access certain areas in the region.

As you can recall, DPWH has announced a series of bridge projects in Luzon, such as the two China-aided bridges in Metro Manila. A plan to enhance bridges in the country, both aesthetically and functionality. In addition, DPWH has also announced to open a 7.2-kilometer four-lane road in Urdaneta City next year