Drilling works for the substructure of the Ala-Uli Flyover Project at Roman Highway in Bataan is now half-complete, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) said on Sunday, Sept. 25.
DPWH Senior Undersecretary Emil K. Sadain stated that the excavation on 20 out of the 40 drilling locations is now done with the use of the ‘drilling rig with bucket-type machine.’
But Sadain reported to DPWH Secretary Manuel Bonoan that hard and sound bedrock were discovered in some locations when drilling boreholes exceeding the depth of 30 meters could hamper the progress of the flyover construction.
The four-lane 607.750-meter long flyover project located in the intersection of Gov. J.J. Linao National Road and Roman Superhighway in Barangay Ala-Uli, Pilar, Bataan consists of 195.59-meter modular steel flyover, 80 meter transition road each side, and 124.612-meter Road Approach A and 126.269-meter Road Approach B.
Similar to a bridge project, the over P300 million-worth flyover project has three main elements with the initial stage involving the substructure or foundation consisting of the components such as columns also called piers and abutments which transfers the loaded weight of the flyover to the ground.
The two abutments connect and provide support for the end section of the superstructure and the road carried by the earth.
The second element is the superstructure of the bridge which is the horizontal platform that spans the space between columns and finally the construction of the deck of the bridge, the traffic-carrying surface added to the superstructure.
The duration of the construction period is estimated to take 18 months.
One of the DPWH priority projects under the Mega Bridges for Urban and Rural Development Project (MBURDP), the provincial government of Bataan and town of Pilar extended support by spearheading immediate coordination with the concerned public utility companies in the relocation of the affected utilities and initiating the clearing of existing structures.
Through a memorandum with DPWH, the LGU also helped facilitate the acquisition, payment and clearing of road right-of-way, access road and the like for the project site and the preparation of traffic management and rerouting plan.
Works on the two abutments, concrete pavement and slope protection for each approach road of the flyover and the launching/installation of the bridge superstructure is under the implementation of DPWH Regional Office 3 with assistance of Bataan 2nd District Engineering Office.
On the other hand, DPWH Unified Project Management Office-Bridges Management Cluster will provide the French-supplied superstructure materials of the flyover. (Chito A. Chavez)