CALBAYOG CITY, Samar,
Dec. 22 -- The Department
of Public Works and Highways has closed a section of a primary highway that
links Samar province to Luzon Island after a massive rock fall hit this city.
“Boulders as huge as
houses fell Thursday night and we’re thankful that the incident happened far
from residential areas,” said DPWH Samar first district engineer Alvin Ignacio
on Friday.
Ignacio said that the
area has a history of rock fall, but Thursday’s incident is the most
devastating so far as boulders blocked the entire four-lane road.
Heavy rains in the
province since last week triggered the rock fall.
The DPWH advised
motorists going to the north and south to take the Catarman-Calbayog via Lope
de Vega route.
On Friday morning,
the DPWH made a detour road for the motorists to pass along the said area, but
still limit the passage of vehicles.
“Some motorists still
want to pass on the area despite our advisory to take the Lope de Vega route,
so we just made a detour road for them to pass but controlled and scheduled,”
Ignacio added.
However, in its
advisory issued late Friday afternoon, the DPWH field office said the portion
of the rock fall-hit road will be temporarily closed to traffic to all types of
vehicles.
“The clearing
operations and the continuing repair or improvement of the constructed detour
road will be temporarily stopped due to darkness and the danger of another rock
fall,” the DPWH said in a statement.
The Calbayog-Allen
Road is a vital link of Luzon-bound vehicles from Mindanao and Eastern Visayas
regions. It leads to a roll-on roll-off (RoRo) port in Allen, Northern Samar.
For decades, RoRo
ferries cross the San Bernardino Strait, transporting passengers and vehicles
to and from Allen Port and Matnog Port in Sorsogon. With a distance 28
kilometers, the average travel time is one hour and 30 minutes. (JAB/PNA)
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