TACLOBAN CITY – Residents of Barangay Sto. Niño in Julita, Leyte are finally experiencing smoother and safer travel after the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Leyte Second District Engineering Office (L2DEO) completed a long-awaited concrete road project that promises to ease mobility and boost local livelihoods.
The P10.7-million project, which began in March 2025, involved the construction of an 897.95-meter concrete road with a width of five meters. It also included the installation of 9 linear meters of reinforced concrete pipe culverts with stone masonry headwalls and a 92-meter structural concrete-lined canal to improve drainage and road durability.
For years, residents endured muddy, flood-prone, and pothole-filled roads that made travel difficult and unsafe.
“Our hardship with the road was due to its rough condition and frequent flooding. Students had to take off their shoes before entering school. Even government workers and residents traveling to Julita proper struggled because the road was full of potholes. Our farmers also faced great difficulty transporting rice, coconuts, and bananas to Julita and Dulag. We lived with these challenges for many years,” recalled barangay councilor Roel Grado.
With the completion of the project, he said the community is overjoyed. “The transportation of our farmers’ products, as well as the travel of students and residents in our barangay, has greatly improved. We are very thankful to the DPWH for providing us with this concreted barangay road. This is a big help to us—especially to farmers, children, and residents, as well as us barangay officials. Our residents are truly happy with this project,” he added.
District Engineer Leo Edward Oppura stressed the long-term benefits of the road, noting that it will not only improve access to education, healthcare, and local markets but also allow farmers to transport their produce more efficiently.
The project was implemented by WP Alvero Construction Services and is expected to significantly reduce travel difficulties that residents of Barangay Sto. Niño have endured for decades.
(LIZBETH ANN A. ABELLA)
