91 bridges to be built, upgraded during P-Noy term

MANILA, Philippines - The government plans to build or replace 91 bridges to interconnect roads nationwide in two years under the Special Bridges projects of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH). 

In a project brief, the DPWH Project Management Office (DPWH-PMO) said these steel bridges are expected to slice through mountains, cross rivers, and interconnect roads that can hardly be reached by vehicles.   

The project covers 3,765 linear meters and will cost P3.186 billion or P867,003 per linear meter. Funding for this will be obtained through loans or from government funding.  

“The project aims to provide structurally sound permanent bridges along the national roads in order to improve basic social, industrial and agricultural activities, and to provide safe and faster transport services effectively,” DPWH-PMO said.

The agency said the targeted time period for finishing the replacements and repairs is feasible because the detailed engineering work and the supply and services contract are already in place.  

Past works conducted under the Special Bridges Projects were done with United Kingdom-based contractor Balfour Cleveland and Austria-based Waagner-BIRO Stahlbau AG, which has a subsidiary in the Philippines.

Officials have said, however, that the projects incurred cost overruns.

From the original P3.040-billion total project cost, the project with Balfour reached P5.431 billion after completion, 78.68 percent higher than the original. Phase 1 of the Austrian project, on the other hand, rose 44 percent higher than the original project cost of P3.413 billion.

The DPWH-PMO noted that the government saved hundreds of millions of pesos when it completed the President’s Bridge Programs (PBP) and the Urgent Bridges Development Project for Rural Development because there were no cost overruns.

The agency attributed construction efficiency and competence demonstrated by the contracting firms and the use of permanent modular steel for the bridges.