Photo of Kilometer 186 of the Batangas-Nasugbu Road [July 1914, BPW Quarterly Bulletin]

This photograph is part of a series showing construction projects undertaken by the Bureau of Public Works during the American colonial era. All photographs have been digitally extracted from the Quarterly Bulletins of the bureau and processed using graphics editing software to improve quality. It goes without saying that the eventual output of each extract was always going to be dependent on the quality of the original scan.

In the July 1914 edition of the Bureau of Public Works Quarterly Bulletin, there was an acknowledgement that the Spaniards laid out a “wonderfully complete” road system in Batangas. The problem was, noted that same report, the Spaniards did not actually construct “the finished roads on that system.”

It was, therefore, left to the Americans, who wanted to stimulate movement and economic growth within the province, to undertake the construction of roads. This they started doing as early as 1900, although in doing so, the intention was also partly to help the United States Army move around more quickly and efficiently in its operations against what they called the “insurrectos.”

When the Philippine-American War ended, the new colonial government started undertaking various infrastructure projects not just in Batangas but also elsewhere. The photo below, which was under the auspices of the Bureau of Public Works, was a first class road under construction at Kilometer 186 of the Batangas-Nasugbu Road.

Cross-reference against a Road System Map provided, this stretch of road should be approaching if not already within the limits of the poblacion or town center in Nasugbu.

¹ “Bureau of Public Works Quarterly Bulletin, Volume 2 No. 4,” compiiled by C.A. Tansill, published July 1914 in Manila by the Bureau of Public Works.