Manila: The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) has announced the opening of 57 kilometers of the 70-kilometer Basey-Maydolong Road, which connects the provinces of Samar and Eastern Samar, substantially cutting down travel time between Tacloban City and Borongan City.
According to Philippines News Agency, as of May this year, the DPWH-Eastern Visayas (DPWH-8) reported that PHP1.73 billion of the project's total PHP3.16-billion budget has been released, enabling substantial progress on what is considered one of Eastern Visayas' high-impact infrastructure projects. Over the past decade, the funding has allowed the agency to open and pave 30.2 kilometers of road on the Eastern Samar side and 26.8 kilometers on the Samar side.
The DPWH aims to complete the project before the end of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.'s term. DPWH-8 Director Edgar Tabacon highlighted that this project would serve as the shortest route from Tacloban City to Borongan City, reducing travel time from four hours via the Basey-Marabut-Balangiga Road to just two hours through the Basey-Maydolong Road.
The road project continues the tourism corridor connecting the Borongan-Llorente Closed Canopy Road in Eastern Samar with the San Juanico-Basey-Sohoton Road in Samar, thereby improving access to key tourism destinations and economic centers in the region. Currently, motorists traveling from Eastern Samar to Tacloban City can take either the Paranas-Taft Road or the Borongan-Quinapondan-Lawaan-Marabut-Basey Road.
Borongan City is approximately 190 kilometers from Tacloban City via the shortest existing route, which passes through Basey and Marabut before reaching the Eastern Samar border. Once completed, the Basey-Maydolong Road is expected to provide a more efficient and reliable alternative route, especially during heavy rainfall, when sections of the Buray-Taft Road become impassable due to flooding and landslides.
The Samar segment of the road passes through Barangay Wespal in Basey, which is home to some of the municipality's premier tourist attractions, including the jump-off point for the renowned Sohoton Cave and the entrance to Balantak Falls. Basey is about 42 kilometers from Tacloban City, the regional capital, while Maydolong is just 21 kilometers from Borongan City, the capital of Eastern Samar.
The highway is anticipated to enhance inter-provincial links, improve access to tourism destinations, enable smoother movement of goods and services, and foster economic growth in both provinces upon completion.
