After weeks of apparent silence, officials of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) have spoken out.
But can they deliver on their (endless) promises?
We're talking about the viaduct and northbound exit that would have connected the city of San Pedro, Laguna to the South Luzon Expressway (SLEX), a project that officials claim will finally be completed by the end of the year.
To recall, city officials – Laguna 1st District Representative Ann Matibag in particular – had hounded DPWH officials on when the project, supposedly complete by 2022, will finally be opened to serve long-suffering motorists and commuters who had to deal with the lack of proper entry points between San Pedro City and Metro Manila.
Official reply
DPWH SPEAKS!
In a letter to OpinYon Laguna dated March 15, DPWH – Region IV-A Regional Director Jovel Mendoza sought to "clarify" the current status of the San Pedro City northbound exit.
This, after it was revealed on the DPWH database that the project was "100-percent" complete despite the fact that the viaduct connecting the exit to the Magsaysay Road and the southbound portion of the exit was still a few meters short of completion.
"The construction of the SLEX San Pedro Northbound Interchange is being executed under a multi-year Contract Authority, which entails breaking down the project into distinct phases. Funding is allocated variably each fiscal year to ensure efficient implementation," Mendoza explained in the letter.
This most probably explains why documents provided by Representative Matibag's camp showed construction of the exit and the viaduct had been done in phases, with some sectors stalled at 98-percent completion.
Two key contracts — those for the construction of the toll plaza and the toll supervision building —remain "in progress.” Another contract for the road component and the bridge approach leading to San Antonio Drive and Magsaysay Road is scheduled to be "awarded" this year.
"Considering the current pace of the project, we anticipate its full completion by the year 2024. We remain committed to addressing any issues that may arise during the final stages to ensure a safe and efficient infrastructure for the motoring public," the regional director added.
Not another San Pedro bridge?
The DPWH’s assurances and promises (the same one given to city officials last month during a meeting at the San Pedro City Hall) should not remain forgotten by San Pedrenses.
After all, it was also the DPWH which had engineered the three-year “kalbaryo” among San Pedrenses – the bridge-widening project at the San Isidro/PNR bridge along the National Highway.
Let’s recall that the bridge-widening project, which was started in 2016, languished for nearly three years until it was finally completed in 2019.
That fiasco had also caused hardship for motorists and commuters who were forced to find alternate routes, while public transport was also disrupted during the entire time the bridge was closed.
Former San Pedro City Administrator Filemon Sibulo, as quoted by the Philippine Daily Inquirer in March 2019, cited the alleged lack of coordination between the DPWH and various other agencies as the main reason the project was stalled repeatedly.
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