KENNON ROAD ROCK SHED READY BEFORE YEAR-END: DPWH

November 9, 2024 Metro BLISTT

BAGUIO CITY

The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH)-Cordillera said construction of the rock shed along Kennon Road, aimed to address the persistent landslide at Camp 6, will be ready before the year ends. DPWH-Cordillera director engineer Khadaffy Tanggol, in a media interview Tuesday, said the weather disturbances that affected the region in the past weeks have affected the completion of the project this November.

Tanggol said the infrastructure is similar to the one along Marcos highway, constructed in the early 2000. Construction of the rock shed, aimed to address erosions during the rainy season, started in late 2023. “Pina-expedite natin sa contractor noong sarado ang Kennon kaya napabilis ang gawa nila dahil walang dumadaan (We asked the contractor to expedite the works when Kennon was closed to traffic allowing them to work faster),” he said.

Tanggol noted that Severe Tropical Storm Kristine (international name Trami) and Super Typhoon Leon (international name Kong-rey) in the past weeks have had no effects on the ongoing construction of the rock shed.
He said that with some major problematic areas of the road being slowly addressed, they hope to further improve the status of Kennon Road. The historic Kennon Road, which opened the doors for Baguio and Benguet to be economically developed, suffered major destruction during the 1990 earthquake in northern Luzon. Due to the unstable condition of the mountain slopes, landslides, rockslides, and road slips frequently occur rendering the road unstable.

(Liza Agoot/PNA)