ILOILO City – To avoid a repeat of yesterday’s accident at the Aganan flyover construction site in Pavia, Iloilo, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) in Region 6 is considering the total closure to traffic of the site if there are scheduled “heavy work” such as lifting of steel bars.
“We hope the public would understand and won’t complain of the temporary inconvenience,” said Engineer Ormel Santos, project engineer of DPWH-6.
What happened yesterday, Santos said, was “askidente…wala sang may gusto sadto.”
According to Santos, the hydraulic hose of the crane’s boom snapped while lifting steel bars.
The boom then went haywire and hit two vehicles – a pickup and a sedan.
The DPWH contractor of the flyover, International Builders Corporation, committed to shoulder the repair of the damaged vehicles, said Santos.
He also urged motorists to be vigilant while passing by the flyover construction site.
“Kon maglabay sila, ulo-aligmat. Lantaw-lantawon nila ang gina-obra…you can never tell what will happen,” said Santos.
Construction of the P560-million four-lane Aganan flyover started in July 2020.
The construction period is 24 months but the coronavirus disease pandemic that started in March 2020 and remains ongoing has slowed down the work.
The Aganan flyover would be 436.90 meters long including the protection approaches and right of way.
Construction was originally scheduled to start in January 2020 but several concerns were addressed first such as clearing the electrical wires and poles of Iloilo Electric Cooperative.
DPWH-6 is constructing four flyovers all at the same time to ease traffic congestion – Aganan flyover (Pavia, Iloilo), Ungka flyover (Pavia, Iloilo), Buhang flyover (Jaro, Iloilo City), and Jibao-an flyover (Mandurriao, Iloilo City).
Then Ilonggo senator Franklin Drilon lobbied for these flyovers.
“We have to move quickly to solve traffic congestion which irks drivers, commuters and tourists. We must prevent being compared to Metro Manila and Cebu City in terms of the gravity of traffic. It will not be good for the image of the city that we have worked hard on for several years,” said Drilon./PN
