The controversial Ungka flyover is expected to fully open to vehicular traffic by November this year, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH-6) announced on Tuesday, July 2.
“We will try our best to reopen to full capacity traffic in the first week of November,” DPWH-6 regional director Sanny Boy Oropel said in a media interview.
The “sinking” flyover, which straddles Jaro district in Iloilo City and the neighboring town of Pavia, is currently undergoing rectification.
According to Oropel, the first phase of the repair is already 65 percent complete as of June 30 and is targeted to be done by July 30.
“The jet grouting for Phase I should be completed by the end of July. We aim to initiate Phase II activities by the first or second week of August,” he said.
Phase I of the repair costs P95 million while Phase II has a budget of P200 million. These figures brought the total cost of the 453.70-meter flyover to P975 million from the original amount of P680 million.
The DPWH also spent P13 million for the conduct of a geotechnical investigation on the flyover’s vertical displacement last year.
The defective flyover was built by International Builders Corp. (IBC), an Iloilo-based contractor.IMT
REPORTING by Dave Molavin, West Visayas State University College of Communication intern; EDITING by Reymar Latoza
