The Department of Public Works and Highway (DPWH) on Monday defended the construction of the Davao City Coastal Bypass Road that was designed to be a sturdy project not only to ease traffic in certain areas of the locality but also to protect it against the wrath of nature like storm surges.
In a memorandum dated March 21, 2022, DPWH Regional Director Rey Peter Gille said that the road, one of the agency’s flagship projects in Davao, is “very different” from ordinary highways.
“The Davao City Coastal Road was designed as a composite highway structure that serves as a road access, a coastal shore protection structure and a breakwater that protects the city from sea wave actions, water surges and shore erosion,” he said.
“The entire length of the coastal highway also included a bridge that connects sections of the highway in a deep section where the mouth of the river is located,” Gille added.
In the memorandum addressed to Public Works Secretary Roger Mercado, Gille said the project has an estimated cost of P33.772 billion to date.
The amount covers P28.497 billion for civil works and P5.275 billion for the right of way.
“In view of the above cost estimates, the cost of the road component alone of the project is P910.171 million per kilometer. This cost is for an 8-lane road designed for the coastal road. Therefore, for a 2-lane road, the cost is more or less P227.542 million per kilometer (or P227,542 per linear meter),” the memorandum read.
“This covers the construction of a 4-lane (15.40 meter road width), 100 millimeters thick asphalt pavement with anti-rutting additive (ARA); construction of bicycle lanes; and construction of curb, gutter, and sidewalk. The entire width of the road including the off-carriageway is 25.54 meters or almost equivalent to an 8-lane road.”
“The road facilities are constructed on embankments with average height of around 6.50 meters complete with drainage and separation geotextiles therefore a significant volume of earthworks (borrow materials) is required.”
“On one side, geotubes were installed for the reclamation as protection; Class I and II rocks were also put in place with hexapods, seawall and wave deflection to reduce the intensity of wave actions which is prevalent in the area during ‘amihan’ season,” Gille added in his memo.
He noted: “Other facilities include detour/access road, metal guardrails, construction of roundabouts at Times Beach and Roxas Avenue, concrete fence including posts, roadway lighting, plant boxes and drainage structures using high density polyethylene pipes (HDPE) for high level of impermeability.”
“Above all, the cost includes the construction/opening of Entrance/Exit Roads to connect to existing highways at Talomo, Roxas Avenue, Sta. Ana Wharf and R. Castillo Street.”