Quezon City authorities said on Wednesday that the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) will start the construction of a road linking Commonwealth Avenue to Quirino Highway on October 15.

Quezon City Mayor Feliciano Belmonte during the ground-breaking ceremony said that the P65.89 million worth C-7, Commonwealth Avenue Extension is a product of long years of hard work aimed at connecting the busiest road networks in the city.

With his term in office ending in 2010, Belmonte said that he wants to leave behind a legacy that will not only provide smoother travel but also ignite commercial development and spur economic progress in the area.

Long secluded from the other business centers of the neighboring districts of Quezon City, Rep. Annie Rosa Susano said that the project is a testament of the ingenuity and managerial skills of Belmonte making the 50 long years of isolation worth the wait.

A direct descendant of Tandang Sora, she said that the 500 meter road will be very vital in decongesting the areas of Novaliches, Quirino Highway, Zabarte area and the Bukid area of Caloocan City.

She noted that motorists going to Novaliches from Commonwealth Avenue and vice versa may now use the road link and save on travel time by at least 30 minutes compared to using the long and circuitous route of Jordan Plains.

Architect Kit Valenzuela of Solid Rock Construction said that the DPWH has provided plans for spacious sidewalks, ample lighting systems, and attractive landscape maintaining the area’s scenic view and order.

Earlier, the Quezon City government shelled out P20 million as its contribution for the P140-million road right-of-way acquisition to Phinma property Holdings Corporation which owned the property in barangay Kaligayahan.

Belmonte said that the city government has agreed to negotiate for road right-of-ways advancing the needed funds to facilitate the completion of infrastructure projects in the city.

“We are just trying to complement the DPWH,’’ Belmonte noted.

Funded by the World Bank under loan number 7058-PH, the project involves earthmoving and sub-grade preparations, construction of six-lane Portland cement concrete pavement and drainage and slope protection works.

The 500 meter-long and 38-meter wide roadway is expected to be completed on May 10, 2012.