Circumferential road in historic Limasawa town now 82% done

MAASIN CITY, Southern Leyte, Oct. 17 (PNA) -- The island town of Limasawa, Southern Leyte will soon have its newly-paved road with the completion of the PHP44 million project, in support to the government’s effort to promote the island as a tourist destination.

As of end September 2016, the Limasawa Circumferential Road is now 82 percent complete, based on the 2016 program of works. The Department of Public works and Highways-Southern Leyte District Engineering Office (DPWH-SLDEO) is very optimistic that the project will be done by the end of the year.

“Its current completion rate is slightly ahead the revised target of 80 percent for the end of third quarter. This is a result of regular inspection and proper coordination with the contractor,” said Letecia Olarte, DPWH-SLDEO construction section chief.

The DPWH started the concreting project in 2013 with an outlay of PHP36 million for 1.23 kilometers. For 2014, the project got a P32 million funding for 1.1 kilometer.

The road width is 6.1 meters, just like Palo-Carigara-Ormoc Road in Leyte after the widening. With thickness of nine inches, this is as thick as the country’s major highways.

The road links the six villages of the town - San Agustin, San Bernardo, Triana 1, Triana 2, Magallanes, and Lugsongan. The town’s provincial road has total length of six kilometers, but some portions were paved by the local government before the central government invested on tourism access road.

Limasawa is the site of the national shrine where the First Catholic Mass in the Philippines and Asia was celebrated in 1521.

The island town is a sixth class town and an island of the same name in Southern Leyte, with a population of about 6,000, making it the smallest town in the province, both in population and area. (PNA)

FPV/SQM/DPWH-PR/EGR