ILOILO City – The Office of the Presidential Assistant for the Visayas (OPAV) assured Ilonggos that it would monitor any progress concerning the defective P680-million Ungka flyover in Barangay Ungka, Jaro district and Barangay Ungka II, Pavia, Iloilo.
OPAV assistant secretary Mark Peter M. Quilaneta said they knew about the controversies.
He explained it is the job of the OPAV, led by Undersecretary Terence Calatrava, to monitor infrastructure projects funded by the national government and under the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).
The OPAV was aware the DPWH is investigating the flyover through a third-party consulting firm.
“Yes, we were informed, kasi nakita naman namin, dumaan tayo diyan (flyover). But then again our task is to monitor. A separate agency would make sure the problem is addressed,” said Quilaneta.
The OPAV assistant secretary also assured they would deliver the concerns of the Ilonggos to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
Last week, DPWH-6 regional director Nerie Bueno said they already opened the bidding for interested consulting firms. After this will be the post-qualification or evaluation of the firm(s) qualified to conduct the geotechnical investigation.
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 essential 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./PN
