Despite hairline cracks: Tunnel is safe - DPWH

CEBU, Philippines — Cracks were seen on the ceiling of the tunnel leading to the South Road Properties but the Department of Public Works and Highways - 7 said there is nothing to worry about.

DPWH-7 Assistant Director Mario Morales said the “hairline cracks” are not a cause for concern.

He said the cracks actually started becoming visible since 2010 because of the climate condition here.

When the tunnel project was completed on October 20, 2010, Kajima Corporation, the contractor, reportedly applied epoxy to the cracks as a preventive measure.

Construction of the tunnel on Sergio Osmeña Jr. Boulevard began on June 28, 2006.

“Tungod na sa ato climate, mo-expand siya kung init, mo-contract siya og bugnaw. Naa gyud na’y hairline cracks…

dili na alarming ang hairline cracks kay part na sa preventive maintenance nga among gihimo ang application sa epoxy ana last October 2010 pa,” Montejo said.

The hairline cracks became prominent because of their black color but Montejo explained this is also because of the advance epoxy applied.

Contractors reportedly control the cracking by placing epoxy or doing expansion joints.

Personnel from the Cebu City Engineering District inspected the tunnel after a post about the cracks circulated online, particularly on Facebook, causing alarm among netizens.

At 2 a.m. yesterday, Facebook user JC Rey Sanguenza posted a photo of the cracks with the caption: “Aware lang ta ani sa mga mobiyahe sa city.”

As of this writing, Sanguenza’s post has earned around 900 reactions and shared 8,326 times.

Montejo said the engineers found nothing to be alarmed about. He said the SRP tunnel is designed to resist at least a magnitude 10 earthquake.

“Assurance lang, very massive kaayo ni nga structure, structurally-sound, mga Hapon ang ga-trabaho,” he said.

He said they plan to cover the cracks with white paint so as not to trigger more panic among motorists.

He advised those who posted about the cracks online:

“Responsible dapat ta. Dili ta mo-post nga maka-cause og alarm sa public kay ang tao, kung ang tao lang ang motan-aw, mura lang nag cracks, dili na actually cracks,” he said.

Mayor Tomas Osmeña also posted on his personal account:

“No problem daw. According to the inspecting engineers, the cracks are not structural and the tunnel is safe to use. Daghang salamat for the quick response DPWH,” a portion of his post reads.

A concerned netizen, Veronica Castillo-Alfon, asked Osmeña to let DPWH-7 assess the tunnel next week.

“Mayor Tommy Osmeña, pwede mag-inspect sila’g balik next week? Mahadlok man ta sa kadali nila nakahuman og inspect if natarong ba gyud. Basin mapareha sa Naga ayaw lang tawn na ingon safe ra then after how many days mao na to. Maka-trauma, mayor,” she said. — JMO (FREEMAN)