ILOILO City – The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Region 6 targets to begin the geotechnical investigation on the defective P680-million Ungka flyover in Barangay Ungka, Jaro district and Barangay Ungka II, Pavia, Iloilo this March.
DPWH-6 director Nerie Bueno said they will open the bidding for interested consulting firms tomorrow, Feb. 16. After this will be the post-qualification or evaluation of the firm(s) qualified to conduct the geotechnical investigation.
“Maybe by the end of February we would be able to award ‘yong consultancy, but then nung kinausap naman namin ‘yong prospective bidders at saka ‘yong magbi-bid, sabi namin, give us at least ‘yong result the soonest possible time,” said Bueno.
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 type of tools that will be required to dig through the site in the most economical manner. 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.
Once the contract is awarded to the winning bidder by the end of February, the geotechnical investigation will proceed in March.
It will focus 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.
“By the end of March, mayroon (result) na siguro, ‘yan naman ang sabi nila, kung hindi tayo magka-problema ‘yon ang napag-usapan. I’m also hopeful na mabigay sa amin ang result,” added Bueno.
WHY THE DELAYED BIDDING?
Bueno clarified that they are looking for any budget they could realign to fund the hiring of a third-party consulting firm.
Since the defect with the Ungka flyover was detected in late 2022, the agency had little budget left.
“‘Yon ang problem, we would like to bid on the consultancy, but we cannot just do it because hindi ka naman maka-bid on something kung walang pondo kaya it took us a while,” explained Bueno.
RDC-6 RESOLUTION TO FAST-TRACK BIDDING
During the Regional Development Council (RDC) Region 6 meeting at the office of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Region 6 on Monday, the council passed a resolution urging to fast-track the awarding of bidding.
Meanwhile, Mayor Jerry Treñas said, “You have to go through the procurement process kay after opening sang bid, evaluation, tapos awarding,”
Still, Treñas is hopeful for the continuous bidding process and geotechnical investigation for the immediate recommendation of a solution to the defect.
For the road widening, meanwhile, the city mayor said that after the widened roads opened yesterday, traffic, especially during rush hours, indeed eased.
He also hopes for faster sidewalk construction and the installation of signage in the area.
NO FINGERS POINTED AT THE CONTRACTOR YET
Treñas said he cannot yet determine if the project contractor, International Builders Corporation (IBC), was indeed at fault or had any shortcomings that caused the flyover’s defect.
The mayor said he would wait for the third-party consulting firm to determine if the contractor followed the design planned by DPWH’s Bureau of Design (BOD).
“Once the third party comes up with a recommendation and maghambal nga sala ang contractor, ti, dira ka na manukot. Pero sa subong nagasiling ang contractor nga ginsunod ko ang inyo nga design mo. Ti, tun-an na sang third party kon sakto nga nasunod,” added Treñas./PN
