Crack found in support beam of Magallanes flyover

Government authorities on Thursday confirmed fears that the structural integrity of Magallanes Interchange in Makati City may have been compromised because of excavation work in the area. Noemi Recio, Traffic Engineering Director of the Metro Manila Development Authority, said at a press conference at the Makati City Hall that the "crack" in a girder (or support beam) of the flyover resulted from the digging operations of the First Philippine Industrial Corp. (FPIC). The crack was found in the area near Bonifacio Street corner Osmeña Highway (also known as South Super Highway), radio dzBB report quoted Recio as saying during the press conference. Heavy vehicles were banned from passing through the flyover as early as 8 p.m. on Wednesday. However, with discovery of the crack, the MMDA said it will be enforcing a stricter rerouting scheme for heavy vehicles in the area.

Heavy vehicles from Manila and heading south to Parañaque will no longer be allowed to pass through the interchange. Motorists driving heavy vehicles are advised to turn right to Gil Puyat Avenue in Makati City. Despite the discovery of the crack, Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Rogelio Singson assured the public that the flyover was still secure as they already "shored up" the retaining wall of the structure. The excavation work on the FPIC pipeline was halted on Thursday as authorities began suspect the workers may have hit the girder of the flyover. The flyover has a daily heavy volume of vehicles, around 2,000, according to Recio. Pipelines for petroleum products The FPIC has two main pipelines transporting petroleum products from oil refineries in Batangas to terminals in Pandacan, Manila. The Lopez-owned FPIC has a 25-year concession to transport crude and refined petroleum products until 2017. The damaged pipeline is FPIC's 117-kilometer “white line" that carries gasoline, diesel, kerosene, and aviation fuel and other refined petroleum products. Its other pipeline, called the “black line," transports heavier petroleum products. Valves of the pipeline were closed while the digging is being carried out. In a “24 Oras" report, the FPIC said the gas leak may have been caused by stress exerted on its pipeline by the Magallanes Interchange. The Magallanes Interchange was built in the 1970s. At that time, the FPIC already expressed apprehensions about the building of such a structure on top of their pipeline. Pipeline shut down The FPIC first shut down the pipeline on July 12 after a gas leak was reported at the West Tower Condominium in Bangkal, Makati, which is near the path of the pipeline. However, the pipeline was reopened on July 15. The FPIC closed the pipeline for the second time on July 21 but opened it again on July 24. On July 29, the Energy Department and the Makati government both cleared the FPIC. The DOE then said FPIC had nothing to do with the gas leak at West Tower. The company shut down the pipeline for the third time on October 28 to determine the source of petroleum leak at the West Tower Condominium along Osmeña Highway, Barangay Bangkal, Makati City. The excavation began only after geologists of the University of the Philippines National Institute of Geological Sciences (UP-NIGS) discovered another oil leak in the area, this time along the south-bound service road of Osmeña Highway in Barangay Bangkal, just a few meters from West Tower. As the pipeline was closed, FPIC had to use trucks to transport petroleum products from Batangas to Metro Manila. Singson admitted that trucks delivering fuel from Batangas refineries to the Pandacan oil depot in Manila cannot take the place of the pipeline. "Ang existing trucks di kaya dalhin ang volume sa Pandacan. Kung gagamitin ang regular tankers siguro 50% lang ang katumbas ng delivery sa Pandacan kaya napaka-critical ng pipeline na yan," he said. (That pipeline is very critical that the existing number of trucks can carry only half the amount of fuel the pipeline can transport from Batangas to Manila.) –VVP, GMANews.TV