in 1903 by cutting across the mountains of Benguet with the combined efforts of various Filipinos, Americans, Chinese Filipinos and Japanese nationals. It was considered one of the most difficult and expensive civil engineering projects of its day, with expenditures by the newly established Insular Government of the Philippine Islands in excess of US$2.7 million. The Americans were inimical and irked, as evident in their stance that it was the "Christian Feast Holidays" celebrated by the Filipinos that caused the delays in the completion of the road. More than 2,300 foreign and local workers worked on the road. Aside from Filipino engineers and construction workers and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers headed by Col. Lyman Kennon, foreigners from 36 countries were recruited to work on the road; the majority, at about 1,500 or 22%, were Japanese. The road proved to be a more challenging and dangerous than the original plan of Mead. Hundreds of workers died from malaria and dysentery while more plunged to their deaths while building the road. They are also affected when intense rainpour dredged their positions. The eventual result was in reality, a deviation from the original plan. After the road was completed, some of the foreign road workers, such as those from British Hong Kong and Japan, decided to remain in Baguio to live permanently, such as some Cantonese Chinese Filipinos or in the case of some Japanese Filipinos, move to work in Abaca plantations in Mintal or Calinan in Davao City. The original road was a Macadam Telford-type road which was later improved into an all-weather asphalt roadway. More recently, some portions of Kennon Road have been replaced with concrete pavement. The highway was severely damaged by the 1990 Luzon earthquake that the Department of Public Works and Highways decided for the permanent closure of the road. The highway was proposed to be replaced by a road traversing through the town of Itogon on the way to the lowlands of San Manuel, but was met with criticism from the inhabitants of Baguio. Kennon Road was reopened for public use on September 1, 1991, after rehabilitation efforts were completed. Throughout the years, however, the road has been subjected to temporary closures due to landslides that occurred during heavy storms or earthquakes. The road is currently being repaired and maintained by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) with usage limited only to light vehicles