Deadly waiting game at the Alabang viaduct

There is a deadly waiting game going on at the Alabang viaduct.

The Philippine National Construction Corp. (PNCC) together with its chairman and CEO Luis Sison are waiting for funds to come in before they start any much-needed work to rehabilitate the structure. Muntinlupa City Mayor Jaime Fresnedi and his council colleagues are also waiting with bated breath for any more sign of cracks on the bridge and wishing hard that if anything would happen it should be after their term of office.

Another group headed by the popular volcanologist Dr. Raymundo Punongbayan is also wishfully waiting, hoping that the inevitable earthquakes will not occur. We all know that earthquakes are common occurrence in the Philippines, and it’s just a matter of time before one comes.

And of course, the tens of thousands of commuters using the structure daily are waiting and crossing their fingers every time they pass through either above or below the structure. While odds are high that one may not be there when the duct finally decides to fall, the chaos and the resulting traffic mayhem are nightmare scenes that everyone in the area will have to endure when the inevitable collapse occurs.

How about the politicians? As I mentioned in a previous column ("Alabang viaduct – no media value" dated April 12, 2002), this issue still does not merit our beloved congressmen and senators’ attention. Are they waiting for the disaster to happen by which time they can hog the limelight by expressing concern and condoling with victims’ families?

Are all the above just conjectures or empty prophesies of doom just to attract attention?

Former PNCC chairman confirms Alabang viaduct dire condition

I received a letter from the former chairman of PNCC, Capt. Victorino A. Basco, that will erase whatever doubts PNCC officers, Muntinlupa local officials, residents of the area, and regular users of the viaduct may still entertain. The letter states:

"This refers to your two articles in Biz Links on the danger of a possible collapse of the 35-year-old Alabang viaduct.

"As a resident of Alabang and former chairman of the PNCC (from 1994 to 1995), I fully agree with your deep concern, as well as the concern of the Muntinlupa City Council over the viaduct. Let us not forget the 1989 earthquake in San Francisco area resulting in the collapse of the elevated expressway claiming the lives of 75 persons. Six years later, a similar structure in Kobe, Japan collapsed, resulting in some 5,000 deaths. The magnitude of 7 in the Richter’s scale (that collapsed the structures in San Francisco) is not uncommon in the Philippines. As you know, our country lies in an earthquake belt known as the "Ring of Fire" in the Pacific.

"Following a series of earthquakes that shook Metro Manila in the mid ’90s, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) scheduled a series of bridge retrofitting programs, which included the Alabang viaduct. To date, however, nothing has been heard of retrofitting the Alabang viaduct. Hence, the banning of heavy vehicles from using the viaduct, which has created a monstrous traffic problem at the grade level in the Alabang market area. Both the users of those trucks and the business activities in the Alabang interchange are victims, financially. The cost of waiting as long as two hours of these trucks to clear the grade level of the viaduct will definitely find its way in the higher cost of goods and services. Yes, Virginia, it’s not the inflation rate, but that lousy half-kilometer viaduct that adds to your shopping cost.

"Retrofitting or rehabilitation of the viaduct is, I believe, only a palliative solution. But replacing those concrete structures with steel, similar to the Magallanes interchange, will be a more permanent solution. The reconstruction can be programmed in phases to minimize the resultant inconvenience to the public.

"But where will you get P250 million to fund the project? To give the PNCC the authority to charge higher toll rates will be the most practical. However, we have noted how vigorously the public opposes toll rate hikes. Rather than pay higher toll rates, many motorists would rather lose productive time and endure hour-long traffic delays, as well as pay additional costs for higher fuel consumption and vehicle maintenance. When in other countries, including poorer Jakarta (Indonesia), they won’t complain about paying higher toll rates. But not in their own country! It comes as no surprise, therefore, that the deal toll in our cheaper expressways is much higher than the more expensive but safer expressways abroad.

"Under its financial condition, PNCC is not capable of funding the expensive Alabang viaduct rehabilitation program. With only a few years left of its franchise period to operate expressways, the PNCC is heavily saddled with indebtedness. Two attempts have been made to privatize PNCC so as to generate new money. Unfortunately, these attempts have failed.

"What about Congress appropriating P250 million for this specific project, for the sake of safety? It’s politically not attractive.

"The next best alternative is to task the Citra Metro Manila Tollways Corp. (CMMTC), a project venture between the Indonesian Citra and PNCC, to undertake the project. But Citra and its foreign lenders will be looking for an attractive return on investment (ROI) to decide. There you are again, the public will oppose any toll rate adjustment even if the justification is simply an acceptable ROI. In fact, Citra cannot complete the last few kilometers of the elevated Skyway to Alabang due to the unattractiveness of the costly project.

"There must be some genius around who can provide a solution to address the urgency of preventing the collapse of the Alabang viaduct and the resultant large-scale havoc."

Clear and present danger

There you are. There is a clear and present danger of a collapse of the Alabang viaduct. In the meantime, everyone is playing a waiting game. A deadly waiting game.

Should you wish to share any insights, write me at Link Edge, 4th Floor, 156 Valero Street, Salcedo Village, 1227 Makati City. Or e-mail me at [email protected]. If you wish to view the previous columns, you may also visit my website at http://bizlinks.linkedge.biz.