By JONATHAN HICAP
One person was killed and at least four others were injured after a girder of the ongoing Skyway extension project on the East Service Road in Barangay Cupang, Muntinlupa City collapsed yesterday.
In a statement, EEI Corp., the contractor of the Skyway extension project, said that “a crane that was being positioned for its next task tilted and fell on the girder spanning the two posts of the north-bound Skyway extension project” at about 8:50 a.m.
The girder collapsed on the vehicles below, killing one and injuring about four others, the contractor said.
They were taken by ambulances from the Skyway O&M Corp. and EEI to various hospitals.
City officials said among those taken to the Asian Hospital and Medical Center in Alabang, Muntinlupa were Angelito Manalo, 30, of San Miguel, Pasig City, and John Paul Gonzales, 27, of San Pedro, Laguna.
“We are monitoring the progress of the injured and are trying to get in touch with their next of kin for proper coordination and to extend any assistance they may need,” EEI said.
It added, “Our hearts and prayers go with the affected families. This is an unfortunate and heart-breaking accident that must not happen again. We will review immediately our safety and operating protocols as we build a strategic infrastructure for the public’s convenience.”
A team from the Muntinlupa City Department of Disaster Resilience and Management (MCDDRM) rushed to the area to help.
Six vehicles were damaged – a taxi, an L300 van, a Mitsubishi Adventure, and three motorcycles, according to Danidon Nolasco, head of the Muntinlupa Traffic Management Bureau (MTMB).
The MTMB closed the northbound and southbound lanes of the East Service Road from Alabang to Sucat to traffic. Motorists can use the following alternate routes: West Service Road, Alabang-Zapote Road, M.L. Quezon (Baybayin), and South Luzon Expressway (SLEX).
The incident pushed back the project’s target completion date to February.
“After initial assessment, this unfortunate incident sets back the completion of the Skyway Extension Project. From the December 2020 deadline, target completion is now February 2021.”
Last month, SMC President Ramon S. Ang said the northbound section of the Skyway Extension project is now 70 percent done and on schedule to be finished by yearend.
The SMC-funded P10-billion Skyway extension project will extend the Skyway from Susana Heights on the SLEX to Sucat and back, providing direct access to the elevated section of the Skyway.
It will connect the SLEX and the Muntinlupa Cavite Expressway to the Skyway at Susanna Heights, bypassing Alabang to make travel from south to north via the Skyway System seamless and shorter.
“We are on track to deliver the northbound section of the Skyway Extension project by December, and with this, motorists from the south can easily access Makati, Manila, San Juan, Quezon City, and the North Luzon Expressway,” Ang had said. (with a report from James A. Loyola)
