Path of Advancement
The rehabilitation and road widening projects of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) provide development and progress in the province of Albay. It is a way of concreting new paths to the province of treasure and means.
The projects will be having 1.9 billion budget for the road widening- concreting for Bicol region while another 1.9 billion would be for the widening of four lanes of 33 out of 606 bridges in the region.
The Sagumayon Bridge, now widened to a four-lane road, is located along J.P Rizal Street beside the regional office of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) and the Yawa Bridge located near the Aquinas University of Legazpi, Barangay Rawis where the national and regional offices are located. The bridge connects Legazpi City to the 1st and 3rd district of Albay.
It has total findings of P140 million included the general appropriations Act of 2014. The widened Yawa Bridge has a total length of 140 meters and width of 14.4 meters, with a 16.4 meter approach, giving the commuters an assurance to a “lesser traffic way”.
Hence, 51 trees have to cut for the road widening areas despite protests from the local environmentalists. The DENR central office took almost a year to process and approves the request of the DPWH to cut these trees.
These have been opposed by environmentalists groups which have launched protests actions including signature campaigns. But still the DPWH officials have to cut those trees for the project and for the functional procedure of the woods the DENR allowed the residents to develop it and make expenditure of those trees.
Widened road will benefit all the students, workers and public vehicles travelling to Legazpi City from the 1st and 3rd district of Albay or vice versa. But the sad part is that, no more trees will serve as shade for the ones who will be of the same benefits.
The project has to sacrifice the environment for the enhancement to be fully implemented. The road widening project is still on-going as of the moment, concerning roads from Legazpi City to Sto. Domingo, Malilipot, Tabaco City, Malinao and Tiwi.
Albay now is seen as faster, easier and more at ease place to travel because of the safe and enhanced roads.
