Two (2) recently completed road rehabilitation projects by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) resulted to fast and safe travel along vital roads within the Freeport Area of Bataan (FAB).
DPWH Secretary Manuel M. Bonoan, based on reports from DPWH Regional Office 3 Director Roseller A. Tolentino, identified the Visayas Avenue and Zigzag Road in Barangay Malaya, Mariveles, inside the FAB as the roads recently upgraded by the DPWH Bataan Second District Engineering Office (DEO).
Completed along the 733-lineal-meter section of Visayas Avenue is the P32.98-million asphalt overlay project on the four (4)-lane tertiary road which included the installation of road safety signages and reflectorized pavement markings.
The road improvement along Visayas Avenue is intended not only to provide motorists with safe and convenient travel but also to maintain the structural integrity of the existing road.
Meanwhile, the 108-linear-meter concrete slope protection varying from 12 to 15 meters in height along Zigzag Road was stabilized with sheet pile footings and successfully rehabilitated by the DPWH Bataan Second DEO to prevent erosion-induced slope failure along the road’s landslide-prone sections.
Also part of the P24.5-million rehabilitation project are the painting of wheel guards and installation of street lights to optimize safety of residents passing the mountainous stretch of the road that connects the first-class municipalities of Mariveles and Limay in the Province of Bataan.
Funded under the 2022 General Appropriations Act (GAA), the completion of the projects will benefit the growing number of motorists requiring a more reliable road network that connects Mariveles town proper to Bataan's premiere freeport.
According to Secretary Bonoan, DPWH will continue to implement road asset preservation and rehabilitation projects to attract more investors in prime economic zones in the country including the FAB which currently serves as a hub for major industrial companies such as as port operators, power plant, oil depot, and bulk grain terminals.