TUNNEL CRACKS
UGLY, BUT HARMLESS
There is no reason for the public to be worried about the cracks seen in the ceiling of the Cebu South Coastal Road (CSCR) tunnel, said officials of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) 7 and Cebu Contractors Association (CCA), while the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said the tunnel is far from a fault.
A social media post showing some cracks in the ceiling of the Cebu South Coastal Road (CSCR) tunnel went viral.
DPWH 7 Assistant Director Mario Montejo said these were hairline cracks covered with a sealant.
“Wala namo mapintali maong naka-cause og alarm tong iyang mga hairline cracks, pero kana epoxy application na siya sa mga hairline cracks nga ni-occur after sa pagturn-over. Di man ta modawat kong naay ingon ana. Gi-epoxy sa mga Hapon, wa lang masunod og pintal (We weren’t able to paint over it, which caused alarm. But these were just epoxy applications on hairline cracks that occurred after the turnover. We couldn’t accept it with the cracks. So the Japanese sealed them with epoxy but failed to cover them with paint),” said Montejo.
The cracks in the P1.2-billion four-lane tunnel constructed by the Japanese firm Kajima Corp. were found as early as 2011. Back then, the DPWH Project Management Office already said that the cracks were superficial and assured the public of the structural stability of the facility.
The tunnel was completed in 2010 after four years of work.
Philvolcs also allayed fears that the tunnel was above an active fault.
Phivolcs officer-in-charge Robinson Jorgio told SunStar Cebu that the tunnel was six kilometers away from the Central Cebu Fault, which he considered “very far.”
He said it was normal for “basically all materials,” and not just concrete, to have thermal expansion and contraction due to changes in temperature. And this may have caused the cracks in the tunnel.
About 3,000 vehicles pass through the tunnel every day, said Montejo.
Engineer Bernard Sia, the CCA public information officer, said that the aesthetic cracks will not affect the structural integrity of the tunnel.
“To determine if the crack reached the base material, you have to etch the tapping or plaster,” said Sia.
In the case of the CSCR tunnel, Sia said it is just normal for epoxy to be applied on a cemented structure that has cracks on its tapping, wall or ceiling.
Montejo also said that hairline cracks are also normal because of the climate in the Philippines where concrete expands during the hot season and contracts during the cold season.
“I assure the public that it is not alarming,” said Montejo.
Montejo directed the Cebu City Engineering District Office to check the cracks yesterday morning after he received a report about it following the viral post.
Even in an Intensity 10 earthquake, the tunnel will not collapse because of its structural integrity, said Montejo. The tunnel is overlapped with two slabs of concrete, each with a thickness of 16 inches.
If the subway had been painted, the public would not have panicked. However, to do this, the DPWH 7 would need a large amount of money.
Every year, the DPWH sends an inspection team to check the structural stability of the subway. It also has its own inspector to report to the agency in case there is a need to repair the structure.
Montejo discouraged netizens from indiscriminately posting stories on social media that would cause panic.