The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) is expected to complete the long-delayed connector road linking the provinces of Zambales and Tarlac by November.

Public Works Secretary Mark A. Villar announced recently that the DPWH is targeting to finish the construction of the remaining 5-kilometer gap at the Zambales section of the 81-kilometer Capas-Botolan Road.

After that, travel time between the two adjoining provinces that are separated by mountain ranges will just be one hour and 20 minutes, Villar added.

Villar, who recently inspected the ongoing road-building project at the Zambales side, descried the Capas-Botolan Road Project to be the best marketing tool for Zambales in marketing the area as an ideal locale for various adventure-tourism activities.

“The improvement of this road network is expected to generate more tourists from Zambales to Tarlac and vice versa, since tourist spots in both provinces of Central Luzon will become accessible from Botolan to Capas and vice versa,” Villar said.

“The Capas-Botolan Road will not only establish a link from Tarlac to Zambales, but will also reduce the present three-hour travel time via Bataan and Pampanga,” he added.

He noted that before the implementation of the project, motorists either have to pass by the provinces of  Pampanga and Bataan,  or as far as Pangasinan in the north, because a rugged terrain separates Zambales and Tarlac.

The connector road is funded under the CY 2016 and 2017 Infrastructure Program in the amount of P138.413 million and P129.615 million, respectively.

The road upgrading project involves concrete paving of carriageway with a thickness of 11 inches (0.28 meter), 2.5-meter shoulders on both sides, construction of stone masonry wall with line canal on mountain side which serves as slope protection and drainage, and provision of metal beam guardrail on the cliff side for road safety.

Villar also said that aside from promoting the ecotourism potential in the area, the Capas-Botolan Road will connect Zambales to the economic hubs in Tarlac and Pampanga where the state-owned Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) under the “Build, Build, Build” initiatives of the government is building the Clark Green City Project, an extension of Pampanga’s Clark Special Economic Zone.

Vilar said the Clark Green City Project is expected to be “a bigger Bonifacio Global City in the heart of Central Luzon” and is seen to become the focal point of economic development in the country within the next few years.

He said that road works crucial to the 9,450-hectare development are now in full swing. – DPWH

Top photo: Sec. Mark Villar inspects the Capas-Botolan road project with DPWH officials and Botolan Mayor Bing Maniquiz