ILOILO City – Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) secretary Manuel M. Bonoan met with the third-party consulting firm to discuss the results of the geotechnical investigation on the P680-million Ungka flyover in Barangay Ungka II, Pavia town.
“We were informed that there was a top-level meeting with Secretary Bonoan sang March 28 with the third-party consultant with regards sa Ungka [flyover],” said DPWH-6 assistant director Jose Al Fruto.
He, however, added the DPWH-6 has yet to know the result of the meeting; they are waiting for the official pronouncement from the secretary.
Fruto said the meeting could only confirm that the third-party consulting firm, Metro Manila-based Abinales Associates Engineers + Consultants, fulfilled its commitment to producing the result of the investigation by the end of March.
He then assured the DPWH-6 is ready for any intervention recommended.
“Although indi naton ma-preempt (Bonoan’s announcement), but ano man ina ang gina-expect naton may readiness nga obrahon ina. Whatever recommendation nga maggwa, we need to prepare depende sa nature or scope sang intervention,” said Fruto.
DPWH-6 needs to prepare specialized equipment and resources to implement whatever the recommendation would be, he added.
The third-party consulting firm started its investigation on March 3 and committed to submit the results and recommendation by the end of March.
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 at a proposed installation site. It helps engineers make decisions regarding the types of tools that will be required to dig through the site most economically. It also assesses the potential environmental impact that a project may have on a particular area.
Geotechnical investigation is an essential step in any trenchless operation because knowledge of subsurface conditions is key to a successful project.
It focused on determining the cause of the vertical displacement of settlement in piers 4, 5 and 6 (if counting the posts from Christ the King Memorial Park) and formulating the appropriate intervention for the defect./PN
