The Department of Public Works and Highways announced on Tuesday that the newly opened six-lane bypass road that is considered a huge relief for motorists passing through the congested Guimba section of Nueva Ecija-Pangasinan Road is now open to the public.
Engr. Armando Manabat, OIC- District Engineer of Nueva Ecija 1st District Engineering Office said they constructed the three-kilometer road to bypass the Guimba town proper which is a traffic chokepoint.
“It is estimated that motorists spend about 30 minutes just to get past the town proper. Now, it will be more convenient to travel since it only takes six minutes for motorists to cross the town’s market area,” he explained.
The network development project begins and ends along the Nueva Ecija-Pangasinan Road, traversing barangays San Roque and Bacayao.
It also serves as an access road leading to the municipality of Victoria in Tarlac as well as the towns of Quezon, Licab, Sto. Domingo and Aliaga in Nueva Ecija.
This multi-year project was given an initial budget of P72.7 million under the 2018 General Appropriations Act for the opening of a four-lane roadway and the construction of other road features such as cross-drainage structures while its concreting and widening to six lanes was implemented in 2019.
“The road is now open to all types of vehicles. However, there are still civil works that need to be done like the construction of retaining walls, and the installation of thermoplastic pavement markings as well as bicycle lanes,” Manabat furthered.
It is expected to be completed by 2023.
