By Betheena Kae Unite Improvement works in three key national roads in Northern Mindanao have recently been completed, providing a safer travel for motorists, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) said. Road improvement and asphalt overlay were implemented in three national road networks in Misamis Oriental and Bukidnon, project director Virgilio Castillo said. These are the 10-kilometer Kibungsod – Sta. Cruz section and 10-km Sta. Cruz – Talisayan Section of the Butuan – Cagayan de Oro – Iligan Road in Misamis Oriental, and the 14-km Dalwangan – Patpat – San Jose Section of Sayre Highway in Bukidnon. Butuan – Cagayan de Oro – Iligan Road is a national primary road connecting Misamis Oriental to other provinces of northern Mindanao while Sayre Highway is a primary highway traversing Misamis Oriental, Bukidnon, and North Cotabato going toward Region 11. According to Castillo, the improvement works of the two national roads in Misamis Oriental were implemented with P172-million cost each while the 14-km road section of Sayre Highway in Bukidnon had a total budget of P182 million. The maintenance projects along Butuan – Cagayan de Oro – Iligan Road and Sayre Highway are part of DPWH’s Annual Work Program jointly funded by the Philippine government and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). Secretary Mark Villar said “the improvement of infrastructure in Region 10 would benefit not only the locals in their day-to-day activities but also tourists who want to visit and explore the wonders of both Bukidnon and Misamis Oriental provinces.” Castillo, on the other hand, said that in a period of three years, a total of 27 asset preservation and preventive maintenance projects from Luzon to Mindanao were completed by the agency under the Annual Work Program. Major accomplishments include the road sections of the Catanduanes Circumferential Road, Surigao – Davao Coastal Road, and Mindoro West Coast Road.