DPWH to start 8-month work on Magallanes interchange

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) will begin next week the rehabilitation of the Magallanes interchange, an official said yesterday.

The repair will last for at least eight months, DPWH National Capital Region director Reynaldo Tagudando said.

Contractor JD Legaspi won the project, which could exceed its P140-million budget if the contractor adds the cost of applying concrete fiber polymer, he added.

Tagudando said while the interchange is not in danger of collapsing, there is a need to repair the 39-year-old structure, which was last retrofitted in the 1980s.

“We need to rehabilitate the Magallanes interchange to restore its integrity. The defect is at the third level. Some of the concrete pavement is already broken, the expansion joints are already damaged. So we are planning on installing carbon fiber, reinforcement polymer fiber and then applying asphalt,” he said.

Tagudando noted that while the contractor will work on both lanes of the interchange’s third-level flyover along EDSA, there is no need to totally close the structure.

“There will be no road closure. There are two lanes (for each direction). We will only work one lane at a time and keep the other lane open for the public’s use. We will fix the pavement at nighttime,” he added.