Kennon Road temporarily closed to motorists starting Jan 1 – Magalong
MANILA, Philippines — Kennon Road, one of the major thoroughfares linking areas in the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) like Benguet Province and Baguio City to surrounding lowlands, will be closed starting January 1 due to cleaning of debris brought by a fire.
A public advisory signed by Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong, who is also the chairperson of the Metropolitan Baguio City, La Trinidad, Itogon, Sablan, Tuba, and Tublay (MBLISTT) Development Authority, stated that Kennon Road will be closed so that debris from a fire near Camp 6 in Tuba will be swiftly removed.
“With the approval of JIATF (Joint Inter-Agency Task Force) Kennon Resolution No. 2 deactivating JIATF Kennch, the MBLISTT Council as the governing board and policy-making body of the authority has taken over management of Kennon Road. pending the establishment of the MBLISTTDA,” the advisory said, as posted at the social media page of the Baguio City Public Information Office.
“Kennon Road will be temporarily closed to all motorists effective 1 January 2025. This is to expedite the clearing of debris resulting from the fire in Camp 6, Tuba, Benguet, in the early hours of 2025,” it added.
According to the advisory signed by Magalong, the advisory will “remain in effect until annulled, revoked, or superseded by succeeding MBLISTT Council issuances.”
Article continues after this advertisementA separate post in the Baguio City Public Information Office page showed that city officers, including those from the Baguio City Fire Station, responded to a fire at Sitio Camp 6, in Camp 4, Tuba.
There were at least 36 families affected by the fire.
A lot of motorists and tourists coming from Central Luzon, Southern Luzon, and Metro Manila prefer going up to Benguet and Baguio City through Kennon Road, as it is the quickest route despite the winding roads and the occasional rockslides.
READ: Kennon, other Cordillera roads still closed due to slides
With Kennon Road closed, motorists moving to and out of Baguio — especially during this holiday season — would have to use Marcos Highway which has entry and exit points in Rosario and Agoo towns in La Union, and Naguilian Road which links Baguio to Bauang, La Union.