DPWH to proceed with Samal Island-Davao City Connector project

The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) will soon start the construction of the much-awaited Samal Island-Davao City Connector road project.

In a statement, the public works department said that the government is proceeding with the project’s detailed engineering design activities, land survey, and geotechnical investigation.

Per DPWH, the geotechnical investigation plan prepared by design and build contractor China Road and Bridge Corporation will have a total of 97 boreholes: 63 for Davao onshore, 18 offshore, and 16 for Samal onshore.

DPWH Secretary Manuel Bonoan said that the permits and other requirements from concerned local government units and national government agencies were already secured.

For his part, DPWH Senior Undersecretary Emil Sadain said that although several proposals for the bridge alignment were considered, the approved one for the sea-crossing bridge is a “product of comprehensive study by experts and with important consideration to the environment and the necessary navigational safety management for seacraft and height restriction for air transport.”

The DPWH also noted that the Infrastructure Development Council (IDC) of Regional Development Council (RDC) 11 has approved the bridge’s alignment and landing points from Samal Circumferential Road in Barangay Limao, Island Garden City of Samal (IGACOS) to Davao City in between R. Castillo-Daang Maharlika junction in 2019, citing its economic and logistical advantages.

The Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC) has already been secured in December 2020 from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources – Environmental Management Bureau (DENR-EMB) based on the project’s latest detailed study conducted by consultants Ove Arup and Partners Hong Kong Ltd. (Arup), which highlights that the current alignment has the least impact on reefs.

Further, DPWH assured the public that the project will have no adverse effect on marine life and the environment by adopting state-of-the-art modern technology in the construction of the foundation for the sea-crossing bridge.

“The alignment will not also affect the mountainous terrain of IGACOS compared to suggested alignment by some groups,” the DPWH said.

The Samal Island-Davao City Connector road project — which is visualized as a 3.98-kilometer, four-lane bridge that will link Samal Island to Davao City — will cross over Pakiputan Strait with vertical clearance navigation of up to 47 meters and supported by two pylons.

Once finished, the passageway is expected to boost the economic and tourism activities in the Davao Region and IGACOS.

Photos from Department of Public Works and Highways

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