DPWH: Remedios street repair to take 1 month

MANILA, Philippines — The repair of the hole along Remedios street in Manila caused by an overweight truck will take a month, a Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) official said yesterday.

Ador Canlas, DPWH-National Capital Region director, said they have yet to receive the results of the soil test and finish the plans and designs for the road repair – a process that may take one to two weeks – before they could request funding from the DPWH central office.

He added it might take them “more than a month” before the hole is covered up and the section, which is surrounded by plastic barriers, passable to motorists.

DPWH Secretary Mark Villar said the agency is drawing up a plan to rebuild the damaged section “to a higher standard.”

A 14-wheeler truck loaded with 42 tons of sand passed through Remedios street before dawn on June 16. The driver said a traffic enforcer told him to take the service road since the boulevard was closed for a marathon. The intersection of Remedios street and the service road has a weight capacity of only 20 tons.