Gov’t set to release P500 M for repair of Metro bridges, flyovers

The government is set to release P500 million to ensure the safety of motorists in Metro Manila through the repair and strengthening of bridges, flyovers and similar structures.

This developed after the Road Board, which is chaired by Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Hermogenes Ebdane Jr., approved the release of the fund for several projects, which include seismic retrofitting, repair and strengthening of bridges and flyovers found to be damaged or in critical condition.

The DPWH earlier reported the need to strengthen the structural integrity of a total of 74 of the 329 bridges in Metro Manila following a thorough inspection and re-evaluation.

Ebdane said the department’s Task Force on Building Inspection (TFBI) found out that 40 bridges need seismic retrofitting, 10 need reconstruction while 24 others need repair. He said 289 bridges and flyovers also have to undergo routine maintenance.

The task force also identified the Bicutan Interchange in Parañaque City as among the six bridges in Metro Manila that need strengthening to withstand an earthquake.

The government has intensified its effort to check on the integrity of infrastructures following the 6.3-magnitude quake that hit Indonesia, where 5,000 lives were lost.

Ebdane likewise ordered building officials of all cities and municipalities in Metro Manila yesterday to coordinate with the TFBI for a more detailed evaluation of at least 60 buildings to ensure their structural integrity, especially during an earthquake.

DPWH Undersecretary Salvador Pleyto, chairman of the TFBI, said Ebdane has also tasked building officials to inspect private buildings, especially those with extensions built upward.

"We must immediately come up with an evaluation report so that we can start repairing and reconstructing damaged school buildings for the safety of students," Pleyto explained.

He likewise reiterated their task to ensure the availability of open spaces in buildings to contain the public during emergencies.

The TFBI has inspected a total of 1,983 public and private buildings in Metro Manila since August last year.

The task force then recommended for further detailed evaluation a total of 366 buildings, with 60 of them for urgent evaluation.

Building inspectors have been conducting hammer and coring tests as well as X-ray tests on columns of buildings during the inspections to determine a structure’s structural ability during an earthquake, Pleyto explained.

The TFBI on Thursday recommended the demolition of a four-story high school building in Manila, which it said has no chance of surviving in case an earthquake hits Metro Manila.

No classes are to be held at one of the buildings of the Manuel A. Roxas High School along Quirino Avenue after inspectors found it had weak structural integrity.

The DPWH-TFBI earlier identified a total of 60 buildings belonging to schools, hospitals and government agencies that are in danger of sustaining "life-threatening" damage in case a major earthquake hits Metro Manila.