BACOLOD City District Engineer Abraham Villareal said the reconstruction of the Circumferential Road near the Lopue’s East is expected to be finished next month.
Villareal said the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) is conducting the rehabilitation, reconstruction, and improvement of the road section from Burgos towards Homesite Bridge which costs P24 million, including the drainage project.
Circumferential Road is one of the busiest areas in Bacolod, especially during peak hours and its reconstruction drew mixed reactions from netizens on social media.
“It is the reblocking works that are being undertaken on the pavement which are already dilapidated or experiencing major scaling,” he said.
Before proceeding with the reconstruction, Villareal said they conducted a survey to determine the condition of the road, and submitted the findings to the DPWH Region 6 for validation.
“We will not implement the project without approval from the DPWH Regional or Central Office,” he said.
Villareal pointed out that in doing the reblocking, the DWPH is required to maintain an international roughness index of three millimeters per meter.
“We are trying our best to attain this so that the public will experience a very good riding comfort,” he said.
Villareal noted that the 400-meter portion of the Circumferential Road is already dilapidated and needs to be repaired.
“We are mandated to develop and improve the national roads only and we cannot touch the local roads because it is under the jurisdiction of the local government unit,” he said.
Villareal added that Bacolod is one of the cities in the country with the best national roads because DPWH obtained a maintenance rating of 99 percent.
