After almost four (4) years in the proposal stage, the Rehabilitation of Parasapas Farm to Market Road (FMR) and Parasapas Bridge is finally issued with No Objection Letter 2 (NOL2) on 10 December 2019.

The Parasapas FMR and bridge is proposed by the Province of La Union in August 2015. It is located in the Municipality of Rosario with a total project cost of Php71,588,000. The FMR measures 2.985 kilometers while the bridge is a reinforced concrete deck girder measuring 15 lineal meters.

The existing road system is mostly a combination of gravel and earth road with intervals of deteriorated concrete pavement. The proposed road rehabilitation starts along the Rosario-Tubao Road and continues upward for almost three (3) kilometers. Because of the poor road condition, accessibility and transportation is difficult throughout the year. Meanwhile, the existing bridge is four (4) meters wide and eight (8) meters long. The height of the bridge is low submerging it in floodwater during rainy season.

Through the Philippine Rural Development Project (PRDP), the road to be constructed is four (4) meters wide, 0.20 meters thick with 1.5 meters road shoulder and one (1) meter drainage on both sides.
With an improved road, the residents and farmers within the subproject site are expected to produce better quality agricultural products, travel to and from the market in a cheaper fare and shorter time, and access other services from the government.

In general, the infrastructure subproject aims to uplift the socio-economic conditions of the farmers through reduction in poverty by 30% within the road influence area and increase in agricultural production and profitability by 20% through easier access to basic farm input. Specifically, the FMR and bridge is targeted to reduce the high cost of transportation by 70%; increase mobility and reduction of travel time by 50%, and minimize transport operation and maintenance cost by 20-30%.

The Parasapas FMR and Parasapas Bridge is the sixth infrastructure subproject proposed by the Province of La Union under the PRDP.

The subproject is targeted to be completed within 480 calendar days from the date of the issuance of the NOL2. It is funded under the Projec’s additional financing from the World Bank. (Ilocos InfoACE)