Kennon Road in Baguio City will now get its long overdue rehabilitation. Soon, the 33-kilometer stretch will be an all-weather road open for motorists even during the rainy season just like Marcos Hi-Way.
Kennon Road, an open-close road since 1990 earthquake
Kennon Road formerly known as the Benguet Road connects Baguio City immediately to Saytan in Rosario, La Union. Travelers who come from Manila take Kennon Road to Baguio City. It is the shortest route compared to using other hi-ways like Marcos Hi-way. This is also where tourists find the famous “Lion’s Head.”
Several accidents have happened in Kennon Road. It is very popular for the occurrence of landslides. Since the 1990 magnitude 7.6 earthquake, it has always been an “open-close” road and deemed as dangerous during the rainy season. Recently, on April 13, a major landslide hit a vehicle and killed an 18-year-old student.
Kennon Road rehabilitation underway
In a report by Sunstar, chief of the Baguio City engineering district of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Engineer Alexander Castañeda said the rehabilitation of Kennon road will be under a public-private partnership (PPP) scheme. He added that the information was relayed during a meeting in Pampanga two weeks ago.
In the report, Castañeda said, “Hopefully, with PPP, Kennon will become an all-weather road like Marcos highway.” Nine kilometers of Kennon road is under the Baguio City District Engineering Office, while the Tarlac-Pangasinan expressway project covers Rosario to La Union. These two projects coincide with the rehabilitation of Kennon Road.
The report further said that the Philippine public-private council will be coming up with a feasibility study to further entice private organizations to join this government initiative. This rehabilitation project would make Kennon Road in Baguio City a less danger-free road. A road that can be used by anyone on any day or season without worrying about landslides or accidents.