Caoayan-Santa Road (Under Construction)

General facts about the proposed Caoayan-Santa Road (based on current available public information)

• In a report by Daily Tribune, District Engineer Reynaldo R. Ablog of the DPWH’s 1st Engineering District said that this infra road project will have a length of approximately 2 kilometers and is part of the DPWH Regional Office’s Multi-Year Program.

• This road will directly connect mainland Santa to mainland Caoayan crossing the Abra River starting from Brgy Rancho. A bridge will connect Brgy Rancho's host island to another island (Puro island). Puro island is composed on three barangays. The road will run through Barangays Puro (Caoayan), Dammay (Santa), and Oribi (Santa). From Oribi Santa, a bridge will span another section of the Abra River all the way to mainland Caoayan town via Pantay Tamurong. See theoretical diagram below for visual learning. The status of this proposed project is subject to change. I will update this post once new information is released.

From the Insiders

On 2025-February-16, we received a message from a project insider correcting a prior statement that the road project would cost 1.1 Billion pesos. It was clarified that the 1.1 Billion-peso fund is for the bridge components only.

Editorial Section

2025-Feb-02 » If this project will push through, the economic, panoramic, and socio-cultural landscape of the mouth at the Abra River will dramatically change. The communities at the mouth of the Abra River are considered "isolated" and far-flung in Ilocos context. There are 6 barangays in ILocos Sur that are situated in the middle of the Abra River.

With the coming of a new road, economic change will become dramatic. The island barangays that will benefit from this project will have improved logistics. Usually, transporting their catch from the sea is arduous. They still need to ride a boat to reach the mainland Ilocos Sur. With this project, trade and commerce will become much easier, more convenient, and safer.

Businesses will fluorish on these islands, since the cost for logistics and transport of goods will become cheaper. Tourism may also grow. The mouth of the Abra River used to be a wild and isolated landscape that is relatively harder to access from mainland Ilocos. The road construction will change the toursim landscape (for the better) in this part of Ilocos.