MANILA — Road rehabilitation works on Otis Bridge have started Saturday, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) reported.
“Work is already ongoing. We are already doing the bored pile foundations. If the 8 bored piles are completed, the superstructures will be done next…we can finish the bridge on our target date or even earlier,” DPWH National Capital Region (NCR) District Director Melvin Navarro said in a text message.
On the other hand, the DPWH official expressed hope that rehabilitation works on Otis Bridge would finish before the Christmas season, assuring the public that they would be working 24/7 to meet the deadline of nine months.
“Public Works Secretary Mark Villar wants us to finish by December in anticipation of the Christmas season traffic since there is a higher volume of containerized cargo trucks that would be passing through the Otis Bridge, especially since only half of the Concordia Bridge, which is also being repaired, is passable to motorists,” Navarro added.
On June 26, the barangay has noticed a 10-meter long damage near the center island of the structure which prompted the DPWH to close it to motorists.
The DPWH had said that the Otis Bridge was up for rehabilitation since 2016 but they could not proceed with the project since the parallel Concordia Bridge was also being repaired.
Closing the two bridges to vehicles would result to heavy traffic in the area particularly Pandacan and Paco, the DPWH stressed. (PNA)