After the incident in Sablan Benguet where 42 people perished, the condition of road in Benguet came into the eyes of the officials.

Benguet congressman Ronald Cosalan together with the Department of Public Works and Highways, and the officials of the municipality of Tuba conducted an inspection along Marcos Highway to find out the possibilities of revising the road to prevent further accidents.

During the inspection, it was agreed that a proposal will be done to recommend the 300-meter stretch at Badiwan to be relocated to make a zigzag.

The said stretch is the steepest part of Marcos Highway which has a grade of 16.7 percent.

DPWH assistant regional director Engr. Alex Castañeda said that the normal grading should only be 12 percent. 16 percent can be used but not for a very long distance.

During the construction of Marcos Highway in the late ’90s, the said grade was done because there was no other way they can reduce it due to road right of way issues.

“We hope that the people here (Tuba) will consider the situation and will be responsive so that we can prevent more accidents from happening,” he said.

He added that the 300-meter distance will be transferred to make a zigzag. “If we can make it that way, vehicles will have to break which is the common causes of accidents in this place,” he said. While it is still a proposal, they will do detailed engineering work to get to know the status of the property. They will also do an estimate of the possible expense that the government will incur with the pursuance of the project.

The road grade was verified by those present with the use of the lazer distance gadget that shows the exact distance as well as grade of the road.

Cosalan said that many vehicular accidents occur in the area due to the grade of the road, thus making the revision will definitely be positive not just for the residents of Baguio and Benguet but to the general public who traverses the road.

Cosalan, who now chairs the Lower House committee on public works, said that the desire to make revisions had existed since then but was taken over by events with his losing the congressional race the succeeding election.

The Eso-Nice incident, he said, is a very reason to again revive the proposal and hopefully pursue the plan in the said section of the Marcos Highway slide.

He said that while the government does not have the funding, a partnership with the private sector which mountain roads like what we have in the region, he said is difficult to maintain, it is important that ensuring public safety on the roads is done.

Many accidents have occurred on the said stretch due to the steepness of the road and they do not want more accidents that will lead to the loss of lives and property to happen again.

The solon said that with the help of the DPWH, they will fast track the proposal for the DPWH secretary to see during his visit in the city on Sept. 1 where he will be the guest of honor during the 101st charter day celebration of Baguio.

The congressman said that the officials of Tuba should exert effort to assist in the project if there is a necessity to negotiate with land owners if it is found that such is a private property.

Expropriation can also be resorted to if needed.

Mayor Florencio Bentrez during the inspection committed to help in the negotiation  to pursue the project because its condition has already made a track record of vehicular accidents.

Inspections in various roads in the region will be conducted to find out their condition and to ensure the public’s safety.