Jalandoni Flyover may bar trucks amid endless repairs

By Rjay Zuriaga Castor

Just like the Ungka and Buhang flyovers, the Jalandoni Flyover in Iloilo City may soon be fitted with a vertical clearance marker or overhead gantry to restrict certain vehicles over height and weight concerns.

The proposal comes amid recurring repair works at the Jalandoni Flyover along Jalandoni and General Luna streets in the City Proper, where frequent maintenance has been causing traffic congestion.

On June 19, Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Vince Dizon flagged the repeated repair cycles at the structure.

DPWH-6 Regional Director Denise Maria Ayag said overloaded trucks continue to use the flyover after rectification works, contributing to the rapid deterioration of newly laid asphalt.

“Even if there are only small defects, we immediately fix it […] My plan sir (Dizon) is we will put a gantry because overloaded vehicles are using the flyover,” she said.

An overhead gantry has already been installed at both the Ungka Flyover and the Buhang Flyover, restricting motorcycles, tricycles, bicycles, and trailer trucks from using the structures.

Under Iloilo City Regulation Ordinance No. 2023-260, several types of vehicles are prohibited from using flyovers, including pedestrians, bicycles, non-motorized vehicles, electric bikes and scooters, tricycles, and vehicles with three or more axles.

Aside from heavy trucks, Dizon said the agency will also review the supply and quality of asphalt materials used in the repeated repairs.

Dizon said the agency will investigate both traffic violations and material quality issues to determine why repairs are not lasting as expected.

He added that damage will persist if heavy trucks keep using the flyover, suggesting that stricter enforcement may be needed to divert such vehicles to the roads below the structure.

“The asphalt should not just last a few months. It should last longer than that. So we have to check the quality of the supplier of the asphalt,” he said.

“If the asphalt can only take light vehicles, and a heavy truck passes that, the asphalt will deteriorate fast. Then we need to make sure that heavy trucks are not using it. Trucks should be just below,” Dizon added.

A PHP 77.29-million rehabilitation and major repair project for the flyover, covering asphalt patching and overlay works, began on Sept. 22, 2025.

The Jalandoni Flyover, which links major roads near the University of San Agustin along Jalandoni and General Luna streets, opened to traffic in July 2010 under the French-assisted Mega Bridges for Urban and Rural Development program.

At the Buhang Flyover in Jaro, the DPWH–Iloilo City District Engineering Office barred heavy trucks and two-wheeled vehicles when the structure reopened to the public on April 30, following the completion of a PHP 315-million repair.

Earlier in February, the flyover was again subjected to nighttime closures to allow urgent repairs on potholes and areas where concrete surfaces had started to deteriorate.

In June, it was again closed at night for rectification and monitoring works.