‘POSTER CHILD OF BAD PRACTICE’: Aganan flyover to open two lanes soon

By Rjay Zuriaga Castor

After six years of delay, the public may soon begin using the Aganan Flyover, with the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) planning to initially open two lanes while remaining works continue.

DPWH Secretary Vince Dizon said the partial opening aims to ease travel for motorists and commuters along Sen. Benigno S. Aquino Jr. Avenue and Felix Gorriceta Avenue in Iloilo City — road sections that have long suffered from heavy daily traffic.

“What we will do is open two lanes so vehicles can already pass in both the northbound and southbound directions,” Dizon said during an inspection at the flyover on Wednesday.

Dizon did not provide a specific timeline for when the initial two lanes will be opened.

The Aganan Flyover in Barangay Aganan, Pavia, Iloilo, is designed as a four-lane structure to address chronic traffic congestion at the junction of Aquino Jr. Avenue and Felix Gorriceta Avenue.

Dizon said the department is now in the final stages of jet grouting, a process that reinforces weak soil layers by injecting high-pressure grout to create stabilized columns around the flyover’s 21 piers.

“We are already in the final stages of jet grouting. The problem here is that the foundation has been slowly sinking, which means the columns were not properly constructed,” he said.

The department is targeting completion of jet grouting for all piers by the end of May.

Following this, concrete pouring for the flyover will begin.

“By June or July, we will start installing the remaining concrete girder beams so the public can see that construction is continuing,” he added.

The agency will continue using concrete girder beams — large horizontal structural elements designed to support heavy loads — to connect the two junctions of the flyover.

Dizon said the southbound lane, heading toward Iloilo International Airport, is targeted for completion by December.

He said the northbound lane, leading to Iloilo City, is expected to be finished in the first quarter of 2027.

“The other lane, they are saying March, April next year, but again we have to fast-track that, hopefully, in February next year, we can already finish the northbound lane,” he said.

“I will keep on coming back here until this is finished because we really have to finish this,” he added.

Despite the timeline, Dizon said safety will not be compromised.

“We will do our best, we will fast-track everything, but right now that is the timeline, but I am telling them to compress the timeline as much as we can without compromising safety,” he added.

Dizon described the prolonged delay as “unacceptable,” calling it a reflection of poor practices under previous department leadership.

“This is really a poster child of the bad practices of DPWH in the past because this has been an ongoing project for the last six years,” he said.

“We have to fast-track this because people are suffering from high costs. This project has been unfinished for the last five to six years, and the public deserves to see it completed. We will do everything we can,” he added.

The Aganan Flyover project is a key infrastructure initiative aimed at decongesting one of the busiest road intersections in Iloilo Province, linking major routes to Iloilo City and the Iloilo International Airport.