Safe roads set for Dinagyang, Ati-Atihan festivals : DPWH

An Ati dancer-warrior performs at the annual Dinagyang Festival in Iloilo City. (Photo By Bernardo ‘Berniemack’ Arellano III – During Dinagyang Festival 2014, CC BY 3.0)

MANILA — The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) has assured revelers that roads leading to Ati-Atihan Festival in Kalibo, Aklan and Dinagyang Festival in Iloilo City are in good condition and are accessible to motorists and the general public.

The agency has already deployed maintenance teams to ensure road safety for the Ati-Atihan Festival in Kalibo, Aklan, which will be held on the third Sunday this month, and the Dinagyang Festival in Iloilo City which will be celebrated on the fourth Sunday of January.

In a statement, DPWH Region 6 Director Wenceslao M. Leaño, Jr. said he instructed concerned district offices of Aklan and Iloilo to ensure that roads were ready for the festivals.

As part of the festival’s preparations, the DPWH Aklan District Engineering Office has conducted maintenance activities along major roads in the town of Kalibo.

Maintenance personnel have checked roads for potholes, cracks and to declog canals along national roads, particularly in poblacion areas.

Thermoplastic pavement markings and repainting of curbs and gutters were applied along Jaime Cardinal Sin Avenue, which served as the main thoroughfare to Kalibo International Airport.

Major bridges like the Kalibo Bridge II were also checked for proper lighting.

The DPWH official added that the bridge along Makato By-pass Road is temporarily open until Jan. 22 to cater to motorists for a separate Ati-Atihan Festival in the town of Makato in Aklan.

In Iloilo, crews have been deployed to undertake various maintenance activities such as repainting of road lane markings and gutter, installation of signage and de-clogging of drainage systems, in time for Dinagyang Festival.

On the other hand, projects that are scheduled for implementation are temporarily suspended to give way to the celebration while rehabilitation works along Valeria Street will be completed before the start of the Dinagyang week.