Adriatico street passable to pedestrians only

The recently damaged Adriatico Street is passable to pedestrians but motorists will have to take a detour until repairs are completed.

Senior Inspector Alberto Peco, of the Manila Police District (MPD) Sta. Monica sub-station, yesterday said repairs on the damaged section of the street between R. Salas and Pedro Gil, are going full blast.

"We have allowed pedestrians and vehicles to use the road the day after the incident but motorists would have to follow the re-routing scheme to decongest the area," he said.

To avoid passing through the damaged portion of the street, motorists are advised to enter Adriatico Street from P. Faura Street, turn right to Salas Street, exit at M.H. del Pilar Street and turn to Pedro Gil Street.

The contractor, D.M. Consunji, has reportedly assured the tenants of buildings located near the construction site that they are no longer in danger.

"The engineers of D.M. Consunji assured them that last Wednesday’s incident would not create a domino effect," Peco said.

Vehicles, on the other hand, are still off limits from using the damaged section of the street.

At around 4:25 p.m. on Feb. 23, a parked white Mitsubishi L-300 van and a blue Kia Pregio were swallowed by the road when the ground caved in. The crater was measured to reach about five meters deep. About two hours later, the tower crane, which is as tall as a 15-story building, also fell.

DM Consunji explained that a water pipe beneath a roadway, which is about seven meters away from the site, burst. This softened the soil and caused the temporary sheet pile to give way.

The incident caused heavy traffic along Taft Avenue, Padre Faura and Pedro Gil streets until early Thursday evening.

Police also cordoned off the area and requested tenants occupying the nearby buildings to evacuate.The crane collapsed at 6:25 p.m. on Adriatico Street. — Evelyn Macairan