The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) has secured a P37 billion loan from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) for the procurement and civil works of the 23-kilometer Dalton Pass East Alignment Road Project in Cagayan Valley.
According to Senior Undersecretary Sadain, in-charge of DPWH infrastructure flagship projects, the P67.4 billion Dalton Pass East Alignment Road Project is meant to provide fast, continuous, and safe connectivity for people, goods, and services from Cagayan Valley Region and Central Luzon, bolster economic activities as well as stimulate the agricultural, commercial, industrial, and tourism development in the entirety of Luzon.
The construction of Dalton Pass East Alignment Road Project will promote and elevate the economic and transport activities in Nueva Ecija, Nueva Vizcaya, and the Cagayan Valley Region known for its rich and vast lands, thus the major producers of rice and corn in the entire country, said Sadain.
This alternate four-lane road will bypass the existing Dalton Pass and to decongest heavy traffic in the old route.
The project involves the construction of 6.121-kilometer twin tube sections, with the longer sections of the northern and southern tunnels approximately measuring 4.516-kilometers and 1.605-kilometers in total length, respectively. It likewise involves the construction of 10 bridges with a total length of 5.828 kilometers and slope protection works.
The four components of the project include the road highway accessible to all municipalities and barangays in Nueva Vizcaya and Nueva Ecija, the north and south tunnel situated in the municipality of Santa Fe and Carranglan, and the bridge that will traverse from the Municipality of Aritao, Santa Fe, and Carranglan.
The project is divided into four packages, namely: package 1 which is a 4-lane road totaling 13.62-kilometers, a 1.6-kilometer twin-tube south tunnel, and seven of 10 bridges expanding to 1.840-kilometers; package 2 encompasses the 4.78-kilometer north tunnel, and package 3 will develop the remaining 4.61-kilometer of the 4-lane road and the construction of bridges 8, 9, and 10 with a length of 1.17-kilometer.
Finally, package 4 will focus on the construction of a tunnel facility, operation and maintenance facility, and power line works.
