The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) intends to start bidding the contract for the 32-kilometer Bataan-Cavite Interlink Bridge project as soon as the detailed engineering design (DED) is completed in the first quarter of 2023.
DPWH said the P3.01-billion DED consultants are more than halfway through andonce completed, the agency will pursue the procurement for the contractor of the project.
Emil Sadain, DPWH senior undersecretary, said in a statement over the weekend the marine geophysical surveys and geotechnical investigations in evaluating underground conditions and site characterization over the waters of Manila Bay are ongoing, with an overall accomplishment of 55 percent to date.
Last Friday, DPWH together with Bataan local government officials were onboard the deepwater vessel Trinity Surveyor and witnessed the conduct of geotechnical investigation survey on the waters of Bataan.
Although this project still has a long way to go, the huge progress that DPWH and the team of DED consultants have been making recently is a manifestation of the government’s commitment to fast-track its implementation, the agency said.
Sadain saidthe geological aspects of the site, surface and subsurface, have to be studied in detail given the nature of the project, before starting construction.
The feasibility studies were begun and completed during the previous administration and will setthe projectin motion under the Marcos administration.
As another intervention to address Metro Manila’s persistent traffic congestionproblem, the Bataan-Cavite Interlink Bridge will introduce new expansion and economic growth opportunities outside of the metropolis, with investors now setting up industries leading to the route of promising new land and marine viaduct highway to be built between Central Luzon and Calabarzon, Sadain said.
The project, a four-lane permanent linkage between Bataan and Cavite, will cut travel time from five hours to just 20 to 30 minutes.
The Bataan-Cavite Interlink Bridge includes the construction of two cable-stayed navigation bridges on either side of the historic Corregidor Island. Called the North Channel Bridge and South Channel Bridge, the structures will have main spans of 400 meters and 900 meters, respectively.
In addition, planning and development of the project requires adequate knowledge of the geotechnical conditions at the site and the application of techniques that will enhance the efficiency of the geotechnical evaluation study, DPWH said.
The bridge alignment crosses over the Manila Bay — a natural harbour that is bounded by Cavite and Metro Manila on the east, Bulacan and Pampanga on the north and Bataan on the northwest.
Implemented by DPWH Unified Project Management Office-Roads Management Cluster II, the project is being developed with funding from the Asian Development Bank.
The project’s DED contract was awarded to the joint venture of TY Lin International and the Republic of Korea’s Pyunghwa Engineering Consultants, working with Switzerland-based Renardet and the Philippines’ DCCD Engineering Corp.
