DPWH urged to prevent flooding in infra sites

Road repair project of the Department of Public Works and HIghways (INQUIRER FILE PHOTO)

MANILA — Makati City Mayor Abigail Binay has called on the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to put up safety measures and mitigate flooding following reports of swamped project sites.

“We urge the DPWH to ensure that contractors of their projects in Makati are taking appropriate measures to prevent flooding in excavation sites and surrounding areas when it rains,” Binay said in a statement on Saturday.

“They should conduct regular dewatering of excavation sites and remove silt and residual construction materials that can cause flooding in the area,” she said.

Binay said DPWH contractors should also put up proper barricades and safety signs around the project sites to protect the public. The mayor took note of the photo published by the Philippine Daily Inquirer in August showing children playing in a flooded pipeline excavation along Chino Roces Avenue.

The DPWH is overseeing the construction of the main drainage along Chino Roces Avenue toward Pasig River cutting across the Barangays of Tejeros, Olympia and Sta. Cruz, and AP Reyes Avenue in Carmona.

“We had asked the concerned contractor to also provide a safety officer on site and install additional warning signs to discourage trespassers,” Binay said.

The mayor asked barangay officials to monitor compliance to safety standards of DPWH projects, such as drainage improvement and rehabilitation works on A. Arnaiz Avenue in San Lorenzo; Ponte and Montojo Streets in Singkamas; Kakarong, Yague and Metropolitan Avenue in Sta. Cruz, and P. Medina Street
in Pio del Pilar.

For the guidance of the public, Binay said the DPWH should require contractors to put up signs indicating the project name and the implementing agency in charge of the project.

Other DPWH project sites include Primo de Rivera Street in the area of La Paz and Tejeros; St. Paul, Sampaloc and Mayapis Streets in San Antonio, and Pasong Tirad Street in Singkamas and La Paz.

The DPWH also has drainage improvement projects in several streets of Barangays Rizal, East Rembo and West Rembo.

Meanwhile, more than 80 metric tons of silt and debris have been hauled in declogging operations conducted by the Makati Department of Engineering and Public Works in the past three months.

The operation, covering more than 20,000 linear meters of drainage system in 15 barangays, is part of the city’s efforts to prevent flooding during the rainy season.  SFM