MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Public Works and Highways opened two more lanes of the Laguna Lake Highway on Friday to cut travel time between Taguig City and Taytay, Rizal.
DPWH Secretary Mark Villar said the additional lanes of the highway, also known as Circumferential Road 6 (C6), are from Napindan to M.L. Quezon Avenue and were constructed under Phase I and Phase II of the Laguna Lake Highway Project. The allocated budget for the project is P512 million.
The lanes, part of the 3.2-kilometer portion of the highway in Taguig, is supposed to reduce travel time from one hour to 30 minutes, he said.
“This newly opened highway is part of a road network that we are building to ease congestion in this particular area and provide a barrier that would prevent the backflow of water coming from Laguna de Bay going to industrial and residential areas in Metro Manila,” Villar said.
Villar said they have included structures for pedestrians to ensure inclusive mobility.
The Laguna Lake Highway Project covers the construction and widening of two bridges, improvement and concreting of existing dilapidated asphalt roads, with the addition of two lanes, construction of two-meter-wide planting strips, a three-meter-wide bike lane and 1.5-meter-wide sidewalks.
The highway is located along the peripheral areas of Laguna de Bay and links the towns of Rizal to the eastern corridor of Metro Manila.
It was opened to light vehicles in 2000, serving as an alternate route for motorists to avoid EDSA and Circumferential Road 5.
The DPWH said operators of heavily loaded trucks favored using the highway and its network, causing the deterioration of the asphalt roads.