ILOILO City – Before the year ends, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Region 6 aims to start the rectification works on the P680-million defective Ungka flyover in Barangay Ungka, Jaro district and Barangay Ungka II, Pavia, Iloilo.
DPWH-6 officer-in-charge, Engr. Sanny Boy Oropel, said the first tranche of the repair budget amounting to around P100 million will be downloaded anytime this November.
Once DPWH-6 receives the budget, the procurement and bidding process will immediately begin.
“That’s our timetable,” Oropel said.
With the expected holiday rush, the jet grouting of the 13 piers will come first.
“We will have to consider the traffic because of the upcoming holiday season, especially this Christmas and also for the Dinagyang Festival in January,” Oropel said, adding that during the jet grouting, the public is assured that the inner lanes of the flyover will remain open.
Currently, the flyover’s two inner lanes are open from 6 a.m. until 9 a.m. and from 4 p.m. until 8 p.m. from Monday to Saturday.
“First thing na himuon nga rectification is the jet grouting of the remaining 13 piers, except for piers 4, 5 and 6. So, while we are introducing the jet grouting on the piers, we will do it one by one or one pier by one pier so that we can still open the Ungka flyover to light vehicles, considering that we are also expecting heavy traffic,” explained Oropel.
The original repair plan centered on adding 47 meters to the depth of piers 4, 5, and 6, which currently stand at 28 meters. Oropel explained that this would require demolishing the spans the three piers support.
Once the second tranche of the budget is released by the first quarter of 2024, the DPWH-6 will begin the removal of the four spans or superstructures that connect to piers 4, 5 and 6. With this, road closures are expected to make way for heavy equipment.
It’s worth noting that Engr. Adam Abinales of Abinales Associates Engineers + Consultants has previously advocated for additional bored piles as a more feasible solution. But while this would significantly boost the group pile capacity, it would also necessitate the removal and possible replacement of existing prestressed concrete girders due to the large equipment used for drilling.
For the other piers, the consulting firm advised underpinning the existing structures with intensive jet grouting, recommending a depth of at least 100 meters for the remaining piers.
On Oct. 19, former Senate President Franklin M. Drilon was with Oropel to inspect the Ungka flyover.
Drilon said they are looking at having the flyover fully operational by August 2024 since the P300 million budget for rectification is already underway.
“We have identified the necessary rectifications for the design flaws, and the P300-million budget is already under favorable consideration. We anticipate no problems with its release in the early part of next year,” said Drilon.
The Ilonggo senator also inspected the Buhang flyover in Barangay Buhang, Jaro district; the Aganan flyover in Barangay Aganan, Pavia; and the Jibao-an flyover in Hibao-an, Mandurriao district./PN
