Both the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and its contractor blamed the lack of aggregates due to the recent suspension of quarry operations for the delay in the implementation of an ongoing road project in Virac.
In a committee hearing conducted by the Sangguniang Bayan last week, a representative of the DPWH Regional Office No. V, a certain Engr. Jacob, seconded the claim of GCI Construction site engineer Joji Granada that the company was not able to source out aggregates in the previous month from its suppliers.
Even with the lifting of the suspension, GCI’s supplier could not deliver the required volume as its equipment broke down, he added.
GCI has no available equipment to be deployed to the quarry site as they are all being used in several projects, Granada claimed.
Jacob told Vice Mayor Lemuel Surtida and the councilors present that they did not anticipate that the suspension of the quarry operation would affect the contractor’s aggregate stockpile.
He said the contractor has a stockpile but when it started utilizing it, the stockpile was not replenished as the provincial government was allowing a limited volume of aggregates to be extracted.
A 100-meter stretch of lane to be concreted requires 94 cubic meters of aggregated, the DPWH engineer said.
Likewise, he disclosed that GCI officials have already visited the governor’s office to ask that contractors of government projects and its suppliers be prioritized in the grant of quarry permits.
Engr. Jacob stated that he understands that the provincial government is just doing its job but it must do its best efforts with regards aggregate needs of government projects.
The statements of the DPWH-5 representative and the contractor’s site engineer immediately drew a sharp reaction from Governor Patrick Alain T. Azanza, who said on a social media post that the suspension was lifted more than a month ago and the DPWH or its contractor can no longer use it as a reason for their failure to properly prosecute the project.
The multi-million-peso contract involves the rehabilitation or reblocking of portions of the national highway stretching from the vicinity of the Virac airport towards Sto. Domingo.
It has been the subject of complaints from motorists and commuters alike due to the slow pace of construction, with the contractor’s excavation of the existing pavement not keeping pace with the pouring of concrete.
The ready-to-be-poured areas have been left idle, resulting in long lines of vehicles enduring heavy traffic on both sides of the project.
A Tribune source familiar with the project said that the road rehab project is allegedly being implemented by a subcontractor for half of the actual contract cost and that it could not purchase the needed cement because it has yet to pay for about P15 million worth of cement bought on credit from local suppliers.
Last week, a day before the hearing at the Virac municipal council, workers of the contractor prepared about a hundred meters for pouring but only about 10 meters were completed as of Thursday afternoon.
The GCI site engineer promised the council that it would complete the road in front of the Catanduanes State University in two weeks and the rest in two months.
On the other hand, the DPWH representative vowed to push the contractor to work overtime to finish the critical portions of the project.
In a related development, he claimed that there is no problem with regards to the quality of the reinforced concrete deck girders at the San Vicente bridge along the boulevard extension project.
Jacob said that a backhoe had launched the four girders and was adjusting the craneway when it accidentally caused one girder to fall on its side and broke into three pieces.
The girder is supposed to carry its load on top but not on its side which is the weakest, he said.
There is no problem with regards to quality of the girder, he stressed, and that the social media post of the San Vicente resident gave false information and presented an inaccurate impression on the public.
Jacob said the contractor has accepted responsibility for the incident and will replace the broken girder.