ATOK, Benguet – The ongoing improvement of the Jose Mencio farm-to-market road, which started in 2017, is now 98.19 percent completed.
The 11.9-kilometer project worth P202.31 million is funded by the World Bank, with counterpart funding from the Department of Agriculture-Philippine Rural Development Project and the provincial government.
Engr. Froilan Roman V. Pine, rural infrastructure engineer assigned for Benguet, said completion of the subproject was delayed due to the enhanced community quarantine implemented in March.
Pine said the project should have been completed and turned over to the beneficiaries in April if not for the quarantine restrictions which impeded construction.
The contract for the FMR subproject ended on Feb. 26. However, the contractor needed to complete the rectification of defects on the concrete pavement as well as on the unfinished items of work such as installation of road signs, construction of road shoulders, installation of curb and gutter, and concrete canal lining among other jobs.
The other causes of delay in the preceding years were due to right-of-way claims, weather conditions, and other social issues. – Elvy S. Taquio
