ILOILO – Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) secretary Manuel Bonoan is visiting Iloilo City on Friday, Jan. 13.
He will inspect the controversial P680-million Ungka flyover, according to 2nd District’s Cong. Michael Gorriceta.
The congressman said he would seek a meeting with Bonoan.
“Ako mismo ma-usisa or mamangkot kon ano gid man ang latest or may ara gid man development, kag kon ano ang paabuton sang mga pumoluyo kay, ti, January na kita,” Gorriceta said.
The flyover was opened to traffic on Sept. 5, 2022 and was closed after just two weeks due to vertical displacement.
According to Gorriceta, he would no longer refer the matter to the House committees on infrastructure and public works if the DPWH secretary could assure him that the flyover would be fixed at the soonest possible time.
Last Dec. 12, 2022, Sangguniang Bayan (SB) members of the municipality of Pavia passed a resolution requesting legislators of the city and province of Iloilo to make representation in Congress to conduct a legislative inquiry in aid of legislation regarding the defective Ungka flyover in Barangay Ungka II and the delayed construction of the Aganan flyover in Barangay Aganan, both in Pavia town.
Gov. Arthur Defensor Jr. also sent a letter to Bonoan on Dec. 14, 2022, requesting to expedite the investigation.
Last month over DYSI Super Radyo Iloilo, Bonoan disclosed that DPWH’s central office hired a third-party consulting firm to conduct an independent geotechnical investigation to determine the root cause of the vertical displacement.
Geotechnical investigation, according to trenchlesspedia.com, implies the use of different methods to determine the physical properties of soil and rock below the surface of the earth in a proposed installation site. It helps engineers to make decisions regarding the type of tools that will be required to dig through the site in the most economical manner. It also gives an assessment of potential environmental impact that a project may cause to a particular area.
Geotechnical investigation is a very essential step in any trenchless operation because knowledge of subsurface conditions is key to a successful project.
The budget for hiring the third-party consulting firm will be sourced from the funds used for preliminary engineering activities of DPWH, said Bonoan./PN
