CLARK FREEPORT — The Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) said yesterday repair of the eroded section of the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEx) in Porac , Pampanga would start as soon as weather improved, but said it would take weeks before the section could be fully restored.
Joshua Bingcang, BCDA project manager for SCTEx, said he did not know how much the cost of the damage was, pending a technical assessment by engineers.
The bridge section was damaged during the heavy monsoon rains that triggered rampaging waters in the Pasig-Potrero River last Monday afternoon.
Bingcang stressed that only the southern abutment of the bridge gave way to erosion and that the bridge itself, which spans across the Pasig-Potrero River in Porac, remained solid. He said erosion of nearby lands blocked the path of rampaging waters in the river channel, causing the waters to shift course and pound on the lower part of the abutment, causing it to collapse during the heavy monsoon rains.
The damaged section created a two-meter gap between the bridge and the approach and was about 20 meters wide.
The Pasig-Potrero River used to be an active lahar channel emanating from the slopes of Mt. Pinatubo. In 1995, lahar flows from the river buried almost the entire Bacolor town in Pampanga.
A section of SCTEx from Clark South going to Porac has remained closed to ensure the safety of motorists, but the Clark-Tarlac section has remained open to all vehicular traffic.
The government of Japan through Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) funded the construction of the P34-billion SCTEx.
The Manila North Tollways Corp. (MNTC) has been operating the SCTEx since five years ago, although the state-owned BCDA has remained its owner, Bingcang said.
MNTC is a unit of Metro Pacific Tollways Corp., a subsidiary of Metro Pacific Investments Corp (MPIC) chaired by Manuel V. Pangilinan.
