PALO, Leyte — The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) in Eastern Visayas is fast-tracking the construction of a P3 billion worth of road here that promises to address the perennial problem of flooding in some areas in the city.

In a statement released Tuesday, DPWH-8 said the construction of the 3.2-kilometer Tacloban-Palo Diversion Road will benefit residents of the flood-prone Barangay Caibaan, V&G Subdivision, Imelda Subdivision and Barangay Marasbaras, Tacloban City as well as barangays Pawing and Campetic in Palo, Leyte.

According to DPWH-8, the road will start at the Leyte Tide Embankment Project at San Jose, Tacloban City and end at Barangay Campetic along Maharlika Highway in Palo, Leyte.

Environmentalists, however, are urging the DPWH-8 to exercise extra caution in executing the project especially that it will traverse the swampy areas of Tacloban and Palo.

“It’s one of the last few marshlands of Palo,” says eco-activist Judah Aliposa, sectoral representative at the Regional Development Council for disaster resilience.

DPWH-8 says the project includes the construction of a 22-meter width floodway/control and drainage system and concrete paving of a four-lane road with a 38-meter width including bike lanes, sidewalk and service road, installation of solar street lights and road safety devices.

It will also have a concrete box-type lined canals which also serve as an underground built-in space for public utility installations, concrete plant boxes, series of 22-meter length box culverts as U-turn slots, and series of cross drainage culverts. In addition, the roadway is protected by a 0.6m x 2m trapezoidal masonry wall.

“In an effort to alleviate the flooding issues in Tacloban City and the town of Palo, DPWH R8 ensured an inclusion of a flood-control component which serves as a massive drainage for flood waters during the rainy season,” the agency stated.

“This floodway-control structure or drainage system stretches to a width of 22 meters placed in between two 4-lane roadways to contain water from going into vulnerable areas. The width of the entire structure spans to 60-meters wide which is wider than the 20-meter standard width of national roads,” it added.

According to its design, the roadways will be equipped with lined canals on both sides of the road to direct floodwater into the main drainage structure. Series of cross drainage pipes are also placed within the structure to drain the water diverted to the canals and channel the water out to the main drainage structure.