ILOILO – When fully repaired, the cost of the newly-built but defective P680-million flyover in Barangay Ungka II, Pavia town would have ballooned to nearly P1 billion.
The repair is estimated to cost at least P250 million.
But where will the repair budget come from?
There are no funds available for that this year, according to the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), which means the four-lane, 453.70-meter long flyover would remain unserviceable.
The Ungka flyover was opened to traffic on the second week of September 2022. But after just two weeks, DPWH closed it due to vertical displacement. Three piers were found to be sinking.
Local chief executives (LCEs) in the city and province of Iloilo urged DPWH not to dilly-dally.
“Kinahanglan padasigon pagpangita sang fund (by) all the means…Ginadalian naton ang pagkay-o sang Ungka flyover,” Gov. Arthur Defensor Jr. told Panay News.
Third-party consulting firm Abinales Associates Engineers + Consultants which DPWH tapped to conduct a geotechnical audit of the flyover said the repair could take 10 months. It found not just three piers sinking but all of the flyover’s 16 piers although by varying degrees.
While waiting for the repair, Defensor said the provincial government would improve alternate routes to lessen the inconvenience of travelers suffering from traffic congestion in Barangay Ungka II, Pavia and Barangay Ungka, Jaro, Iloilo City.
“Ang punta dira kwarta mo, ti, kon waay ka budget considering the magnitude of the amount needed, ti, basi mahulat kita next year,” said Mayor Jerry Treñas of Iloilo City.
If DPWH has some savings, it could be used for the repair, he suggested.
Treñas is also looking at the possibility of seeking the help of Ilonggo congressmen.
He requested, too, that DPWH find funds to expropriate some houses that will be affected by the road widening beneath the Ungka flyover to ease the traffic congestion there.
Engr. Adam Abinales, managing partner of Abinales Associates Engineers + Consultants, recommended additional bored piles for piers 4, 5 and 6 – the three piers with the most pronounced vertical displacement or sinking.
“To drive the additional bored piles, affected existing prestressed concrete (PSC) girders on the coping beam will be removed and replaced if necessary since large equipment shall be used for drilling and driving bored piles,” he said.
The additional bored piles at piers 4, 5 and 6 should have a depth of 40 meters or more, he added.
Currently, the bored piles are only 28 meters deep in pier 4 and 26 meters deep in piers 5 and 6.
For the remaining 13 piers, Abinales recommended underpinning the existing piers and abutments, including existing bored piles, by intense jet grouting.
The jet grouting should be 100 meters deep to arrest the settlement, added Abinales.
If the repair, which is estimated to last for around 10 months, begins in January 2024, Ilonggos could use the flyover by the last quarter of 2024 or first quarter of 2025.
Below is the cumulative settlement recorded on piers 4, 5 and 6 from May 13, 2022 to April 14, 2023:
* pier 4 – 431 millimeters
* pier 5 – 583 millimeters
* pier 6 – 488 millimeters
The cumulative settlement recorded on the remaining piers, including abutments, from May 13, 2022 to April 14, 2023:
* Abutment A – seven millimeters
* pier 1 – 82 millimeters
* pier 2 – 151 millimeters
* pier 3 – 150 millimeters
* pier 7 – 20 millimeters
* pier 8 – 17 millimeters
* pier 9 – 21 millimeters
* pier 10 – 20 millimeters
* pier 11 – 70 millimeters
* pier 12 – 88 millimeters
* pier 13 – 114 millimeters
* pier 14 – 41 millimeters
* pier 15 – 51 millimeters
* pier 16 -27 millimeters
* Abutment B – 12 millimeters./PN
