ILOILO City – The secretary of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) bucked the call to open the defective P680-million Ungka flyover to light vehicles.
Secretary Manuel Bonoan was in Iloilo on Friday, Jan. 13, to assess the controversial flyover that spans Barangay Ungka, Jaro district and Barangay Ungka II, Pavia town.
After the inspection, Bonoan said he was not recommending opening the flyover to ease the traffic congestion in the area especially for the upcoming Dinagyang Festival.
The DPWH secretary said small movement (millimeter) was monitored on piers 4, 5 and 6 during a controlled traffic loading test conducted by a technical team from DPWH Region 6 and project contractor, International Builders Corporation (IBC), on Thursday night, Jan. 12, and Friday morning.
“Ang report nila sa akin kanina is mayroong maliliit na movements. Kaunti but I want to be sure actually kung ano or how frequent is the movement, kung gaano kahaba,” said Bonoan.
During the controlled traffic loading test, a 28-ton truck loaded with sand and six pickups weighing three tons each went up the flyover.
The vehicles were stationed at pier 4 for 15 minutes while the engineers were positioned beneath the flyover and used monitoring instruments to find out if there was movement on the particular post being tested.
A 15-minute load testing on piers 5 and 6 followed.
The conduct of controlled traffic loading test had the go-signal from the DPWH’s Bureau of Design (BOD) to check if the Ungka flyover is now ready to be opened to light vehicles.
“I would not immediately recommend anything na dapat mabuksan sa general public for the time being,” Bonoan told Panay News when asked if he was in favor of opening the flyover to light vehicles.
He said the problem should be resolved first before allowing light vehicles to use the flyover.
“Admittedly there are problems to be resolved bago papadaanan ng traffic ito. We’re still trying to find out kung ano ang ‘yong geotechnical investigation so that immediately makagawa kami ng paraan kung paano natin ma-rectify, kung ano ang kailangan gawin para maging safe ‘yon ‘pag dinaanan ng sasakyan,” said Bonoan.
He added that structural issues were the reason he requested a third-party consulting firm to conduct a geotechnical investigation to identify what really caused the vertical displacement of the three piers and what will be the applicable engineering intervention.
However, he did not give a timeline as to when the geotechnical investigation would be completed, adding that it is a long process.
Bonoan said there is also a need for the consulting firm to meet with the engineers and technical people from DPWH-BOD to discuss the results of the investigation.
Despite the ongoing geotechnical investigation Bonoan initially confirmed yesterday that some possible factors contributing to the “sinking” of the Ungka flyover are the weight of the structure and the soft soil beneath where the piers 4, 5 and 6 are located.
Bonoan lamented that the DPWH has worked on many flyovers across the country and this is the first time they have encountered a problem.
“There are many factors actually eh, maraming factors na may have caused actually. Kasi I think it’s sa structural ng ano… ng flyover. Unang-una tiningnan namin kung ano talaga nasa ibaba kasi dati-dati naman ‘yong ibang tulay hindi naman nagka-ganun. At saka dito lang sa portion neto, eto ‘yong segments, eto ‘yong piers 4, 5 and 6 lang naman ang ganito. ‘Yong iba naman okay naman. So we don’t know, baka mayroong malambot na malambot na lupa ‘yong napuntahan ng piers 4, 5 and 6,” said Bonoan.
ASSURANCE TO THE PUBLIC
The DPWH executive assured the public that he will not recommend the reopening of the flyover unless it is guaranteed safe to be used already.
He also fended off the alleged impending disaster because of what appeared to be a gap between the girder and the cross beam particularly in front of a gasoline station in Barangay Ungka II.
He said there is nothing to worry because DPWH and the contractor already did jet grouting and steel frames that serve as support to prevent further settlement.
“Mayroon kaming ginagawa na shoring at ‘yong steel frame. Sa tingin ko po hindi ho delikado ang dumaan sa baba ng flyover,” Bonoan said.
NEXT DINAGYANG
Bonoan further assured that the flyover will surely be used already in the next Dinagyang Festival.
He described as unfortunate that the flyover cannot be opened in time for this year’s festival.
“Maligayang pagdiriwang ng ating Dinagyang. Unfortunately po hindi po nakaabot itong Ungka flyover but sisiguruhin namin na sa susunod po na Dinagyang magagamit na po ito,” he said.
Bonoan refused to say who should be held accountable for the flyover’s current state. The priority now is to resolve the problem, he stressed.
Bonoan also disclosed that gets day-to-day updates on the flyover from DPWH-6 officials.
Bonoan was accompanied by DPWH-6 regional director Nerie Bueno and DPWH-6 assistant regional director Jose Al Fruto and the management of the IBC during yesterday’s inspection.
Aside from the Ungka flyover, he also inspected the Aganan flyover in Barangay Aganan, Pavia./PN
