Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon on Tuesday ordered government engineers to carve a makeshift ladder at the alternative road used by commuters still using the landslide-hit Bukidnon-Davao (Buda) road in Sitio Kipolot, Barangay Palacapao of Quezon town, Bukidnon.
Dizon, who went to Sitio Kipolot last Tuesday to survey the damage brought by the landslide, told reporters he nearly slipped when he tried the temporary pathway used by commuters.
Currently, those who take the Buda route between Cagayan de Oro and Davao cities have to disembark and walk either uphill or downhill to a waiting bus to complete their trip.
The secretary gave the Department of Public Works and Highways engineers one week to finish the temporary ladder to ease the plight of hundreds of commuters who have to contend with holding on to metal scaffoldings established along the pathway.
Dizon said rebuilding the highway could take up to seven months, including two months of geotechnical survey and soil testing.
After the results of the soil tests are known, Dizon said that would be the time to design the proposed alternative road by carving it on the slopes that were not affected by the landslide.
Dizon said the construction might be completed in five months