DPWH begins land survey of Samal Island-Davao Bridge

Three months ago, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) announced that it was all systems go for the construction of the Samal Island-Davao Bridge. With the go signal made official, the agency is pushing to start the design work and physical construction as soon as possible.

Fast forward to today, and the DPWH is currently surveying the land where the bridge will be constructed. Using a boring machine for the project's geotechnical investigation, the DPWH, together with build contractor China Road & Bridge Corporation, recently drilled two boreholes at Davao onshore.

In total, there will be 97 boreholes for the technical investigation of the Samal Island-Davao Bridge – 63 for Davao onshore, 18 offshore, and 16 for Samal onshore. According to DPWH Undersecretary Emil K. Sadain, the final alignment of the proposed main bridge including the connecting eastern/western offshore and onshore approach bridge, the Davao interchange ramp bridge, and the approach road, have been exhaustively studied with the most beneficial effects in terms of technical, financial, economic, environmental and social impacts.

The project itself has already secured all the necessary permits and requirements from concerned LGUs and national government agencies. More importantly, DPWH Secretary Manuel M. Bonoan said that LGUs from the Island Garden City of Samal (IGACOS) and Davao City expressed no opposition to the current bridge's alignment.

Fears that the Samal Island-Davao Bridge project will affect marine life and the environment have also been allayed by the agency. Combined with the use of modern technologies in the construction of deep foundations for sea-crossing bridges, the DPWH added that the bridge will not affect the mountainous terrain of IGACOS.

Once the project is complete, the four-lane, 3.89-km bridge will cross over the Pakiputan Strait with a vertical clearance of up to 47 meters. It will also be supported by two (2) pylons with a height of 73 meters. The indicative budget for the entire project is PHP 23.039 billion.