MISAMIS OCCIDENTAL (PIA)--Construction of the 3.169-kilometer Panguil Bay Bridge Project in northern Mindanao is moving ahead, with bored piles for the piers and abutments halfway done.
In his report to the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Acting Secretary Roger G. Mercado, Undersecretary for Unified Project Management Office (UPMO) Operations Emil K. Sadain said a total of 29 bored piles are already completed off-shore.
The inter-island bridge project will require 54 bored piles for the 32 piers, two abutments at Tangub City, Misamis Occidental and Tubod, Lanao Del Norte, and two pylons of the main bridge.
The P7.38 Billion Panguil Bay Bridge Project is one of the flagship infrastructure projects implemented by the DPWH - UPMO Roads Management Cluster 2 (RMC 2).
The off-shore construction activities by Korean joint venture contractor Namkwang-Kukdong-Gumwang across Panguil Bay was inspected, November 3, by Undersecretary Sadain together with Undersecretary Eugenio Pipo Jr. and Assistant Secretary Ador Canlas of DPWH Regional Operations in Mindanao, UPMO RMC 2 Project Director Sharif Madsmo Hasim, DPWH Region 10 Director Zenaida Tan, and Project Manager Teresita Bauzon.
Sadain said each of the completed bored piles are subjected to cross hole sonic logging test after 7 to 14 days of concrete pouring in order to ensure quality by assessing the integrity of materials used in the cast-in-site pile as well as load test to determine the safety factor.
A three meter diameter bored pile is made by producing boreholes with the use of reverse circulation drilling machines on barges followed by the launching of 23-millimeter thick permanent steel casing using revolving crane barges and Vibro pile hammers, and until final concrete pouring.
There are two land and sea-based batching plants available for the project, each with a supply capacity of 120 cubic meters of ready-mixed concrete per hour.
To move the construction of the bridge substructure as quickly as possible, one bored pile is completed within an average period of seven (7) days with all the total requirements aimed for completion by the first quarter of 2021, said Sadain.
The bridge project that will provide convenient inter-island travel in the archipelagic topography of northern Mindanao is funded by a loan agreement between the Philippine government and Korean Export Import Bank.
Through the Panguil Bay Bridge, land travel between Tangub City, Misamis Occidental and Tubod, Lanao del Norte is expected to be reduced from two and a half hours to just seven minutes.
The Panguil Bay Bridge will also shorten land travel from Cagayan De Oro and Iligan to Tangub and the northern Zamboanga Region.
To date, the project has provided employment to some 200 individuals that despite the challenges of pandemic, are safely working at full speed.
The manpower requirement is expected to reach 500 when the bridge superstructure activities begin in 2022. (DPWH-10/PIA-10/Misamis Occidental)
