ILOILO City – The defective P680-million newly-built Ungka flyover in Barangay Ungka II, Pavia, Iloilo will be repaired.
“That is the direction,” said Gov. Arthur Defensor Jr. when asked if there would be engineering interventions to be introduced.
The governor, however, declined to give specifics. He said the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Region 6 asked him to wait for the formulation of the engineering intervention to be completed.
“We will wait for the engineering intervention; hulaton ko lang nga maplastar sang complete,” said Defensor.
The governor had a meeting with officials of DPWH-6 and a representative of the third-party consulting firm that conducted a geotechnical investigation on the Ungka flyover.
The Zoom meeting yesterday was attended by DPWH-6 director Nerie Bueno and Engr. Adam Abinales of the Abinales Associates Engineers + Consultants.
Defensor said he was given an update.
“Ginkomplaseran ta ang ayo sang department nga may geotechnical na nga portion, it is already there; it is technical, but hulaton ta anay nga matapos ang execution sang contract ukon ang engineering solution,” said Defensor.
The Regional Development Council’s (RDC) Committee on Infrastructure chaired by Mayor Jerry Treñas will also hold a meeting on May 15 regarding the flyover.
For Defensor, it would be better to wait for the briefing at the RDC meeting on Monday because he does not want to pre-empt it, especially since the process is “technical”.
The governor could not also say whether the engineering intervention on the flyover will start this year or whether it will be reopened by Dinagyang Festival 2024, as previously promised by DPWH secretary Manuel Bonoan.
On the flooding on the road under the flyover, Defensor said DPWH is installing drainage and hopes that once completed, the problem will be resolved.
The Metro Manila-based Abinales Associates Engineers + Consultants was the winning bidder with a contract of three months to conduct the geotechnical investigation on the Ungka flyover. The investigation began in March.
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./PN
