Villar: All National Roads and Bridges Affected by Typhoon Nina Now Cleared

Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Mark Villar announced that as of 6 PM of December 29, all national roads and bridges affected by Typhoon Nina have been cleared.

“At the first advisory of PAGASA that Typhoon Nina has entered the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR), the Regional and District Engineering Offices already activated the Disaster Risk Reduction Management Team or the Incident Command System (ICS),” Villar said.

“Prior to the landfall – as early as December 21, we have already prepositioned all available or operational equipment with operator including designated inspectors to the landslide prone areas,” he added.

Villar said that the Department has also established a priority category of damages:
• Priority 1 which involves the immediate rehabilitation of collapsed bridges, cut road sections, breached seawalls and dikes to quickly restore mobility and ensure safety of the affected areas
• Priority 2 which involves ordinary repair works such as patching potholes, resurfacing of washed out roads and slightly destroyed flood control structures
• Priority 3 which involves minor repair work and or improvement to prevent further deterioration such as repair of road section
DPWH has conducted round-the-clock clearing operations on national roads, highways and bridges affected by Typhoon Nina since December 25.

Dump trucks, payloaders, graders and other road-clearing equipment and personnel were deployed to clear the more than one (1) meter silt and debris at Bantayan Bridge 1 along Ligao – Tabaco Road and fallen trees and slides at Legazpi – Sto. Domingo – Tabaco – Tiwi – Camarines Sur Road. Both are now passable to vehicular traffic.

Partial cost of damage as per initial reports submitted by concerned DPWH offices, subject for further assessment/validation, is at 216.07 million with 43 road sections, 2 bridges and 13 flood control structures affected. (DPWH)