Transportation infrastructure in the UPLB campus is about to get a much-needed improvement, starting in May 2024.

A road widening project will soon commence from the corner of Victoria M. Ela Avenue and Vicente M. Dawis Avenue near the Ornamental Crops Nursery and Math Building and will run 700 meters down Jose R. Velasco Avenue near the College of Economics and Management complex. 

The expanded road will accommodate four lanes for motorists, a dedicated bike lane, and sidewalks for pedestrians.

To minimize any disturbance to daily operations near the site, the expansion will be implemented in phases. The initial construction will focus on adding new lanes toward university property and the existing roads will be reworked once the two lanes are operational.

Another aspect of the project will be the reworking of the university’s façade near the campus entrance and relocating the university signage to a better location to improve traffic management and safety. 

Amidst these structural changes, the project has also considered the importance of the flora surrounding UPLB roadways and has plans to transplant existing trees and plant new ones in the area.

The construction is part of the UPLB Road Network and Drainage Improvement project, which was conceptualized in 2006. This project involves building and improving UPLB roads to ensure efficient mobility and road safety on campus. 

The road expansion project has also been integrated into UPLB’s LUDIP, or Land Use Development and Infrastructure Plan, which determines the long-term plans for infrastructure development in UPLB. The LUDIP ensures that all construction activities in UPLB are harmonized and in line with the university’s vision and mandate.

The UPLB LUDIP was approved by the UP Board of Regents on November 10, 2022.

Roberto Cereno, vice chancellor for community affairs, said that the road construction project has long been overdue, given the growing number of motorists on campus streets. He said that the road network was last improved in the 1970s, when there were only around 2000 cars in UPLB. Today, 17,000 vehicles use UPLB streets based on the number of UPLB car stickers requested.The expansion project was allocated PhP 26.5 million by the Department of Public Works and Highways and is targeted to be finished in 300 calendar days. Magnarich Trading and Construction will be implementing the construction. (Jessa Jael S. Arana)