A NEW highway that will provide a second access road between Pangasinan and Zambales is now the subject of a piloting teamwork between the engineering districts of Pangasinan and Zambales.

The proposed highway with a total distance of 85 kilometers will connect the town of Mangatarem in Pangasinan, passing through barangay Mapita in Aguilar town to Sta. Cruz Zambales.

“In piloting operation, we are looking at the possible alignment of the new highway which will cut through several mountain slopes overlooking the Dasol Bay between Pangasinan and Zambales,” Pangasinan 2nd Highway District Engineer Rodolfo Dion said.

Of the entire stretch, 27 kilometers belong to Pangasinan and 58 kilometers to the province of Zambales, he said.

The Zambales side of the new highway has been started, using P20 million earlier released by the Department of Public Works and Highways.

Dion and Zambales Highway District Engineer Domingo Mariano inspected the proposed road with a 20 meter right of way last week

The proposed road will be financed solely by local funds or from the DPWH.

Once completed, the new highway will be the second access road connecting the province of Pangasinan to Zambales, the first one being the Infanta-Sta Cruz road in western Pangasinan.

The DPWH is now securing environmental compliance certificate from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources as there are trees that would have to be cut to pave the way for the construction.

Dion said the new highways will follow the path taken by trucks of illegal loggers responsible for cutting trees between Pangasinan and Zambales some years back.

The new highway will open the boundary of Pangasinan and Zambales for investments, especially on eco-tourism projects, as the climate in the areas to traversed by the project is like that of Baguio’s.

“Hopefully, we can finish the new highway by the end of this year”’ Dion said. (PNA)