DPWH to complete shortened rockshed on Kennon Road
BAGUIO CITY—The first rockshed built along the century-old Kennon Road will finally be completed as originally designed after it was damaged by heavy landslides in 2025 and left unrepaired for six months despite being reopened to motorists.
Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon on Sunday directed the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to source P270 million to extend the 152-meter rockshed by another 100 meters uphill, where landslides frequently occur in Purok Milltown, Sitio Camp 6, Barangay Camp 4, within the municipality of Tuba, Benguet.
The rockshed—a tunnel encased in reinforced concrete designed to deflect huge boulders that tumble down the zigzag road during peak landslide season—was originally intended to span 248 meters.
However, Congress reduced its proposed P500-million funding under the 2022 National Expenditure Program to P274 million when the national budget was approved, according to Andrew Dacwag, then DPWH planning chief in the Cordillera, in an interview with the Inquirer in August last year.
President Marcos inspected the iconic road in August last year and described the rockshed construction as “subpar.” Although completed in April, rockslides triggered by Typhoon Emong (international name: Co-may) in July damaged portions of the road’s foundation along the ravine.
Functioning
Dizon, who inspected the site on Sunday after attending his first Panagbenga weekend, said the structure nonetheless performed its function.
“We saw that the rockshed worked, as Mayor Benjamin Magalong said earlier. The only problem was that it fell short,” Dizon said.
Dacwag and a project supervisor earlier told the Inquirer that the landslides which heavily damaged Kennon Road in 2025 occurred beyond the existing rockshed—damage that could have been mitigated had the full 248-meter structure been built.
Four additional rocksheds had been proposed for Camps 2, 4, and 6 to address unstable slopes along the aging road, he added. As of press time, the Inquirer could not verify whether these plans remain in place.
Constructed by a multinational workforce from 1903 to 1905 under Army Corps of Engineers Col. Lyman Kennon, the former Benguet Road was completed in 18 months and linked La Union to Baguio, which became a chartered city three years later.
The project was later investigated by the United States Congress for its high cost.
