Boring tests on for planned Tsunami Hill

By March 18, 2012Headlines, News

A SENIOR geologist of the Mines and Geo-sciences Bureau (MGB) has confirmed that a Standard Penetration Test (SPT) is now ongoing to determine the stability of the soil on the planned location of the Tsunami Hill in the island barangay of Pugaro.

Jose Lignes Jr. of the Geotechnical Environmental and Regional Geology Section of MGB said the SPT, a strict requirement under the Structural Code of the Philippines, is being undertaken by the PIB Geo-Technical Material Testing Engineers, a private firm based in Baguio City.

The company bore two holes in Pugaro, one with a depth of nine meters and the other 12 meters from where it obtained soil samples for analysis at its laboratory.

Lignes said upon the invitation of the city government, he already visited the site where he initially identified two geo-hazards in the area, namely liquefaction and differential settlement.

But the official result of the SPT to be released in two weeks can confirm this, he added.

The test result will be crucial is determining the structural foundation needed for the Tsunami Hill, which is planned to be seven-meter-high, 90 meters in diameter and will have a base of three meters, including another four meters sitting on top.

It was City Engineer Virginia Rosario who asked the contractor, LM Diaz Trading and Construction, to hire a group for a boring test before starting the construction of the Tsunami Hill.

Rosario’s office was asked by the contractor earlier to conduct site supervision of the project.

LM Diaz Trading and Construction won the bidding conducted by city hall for the first phase of the Tsunami Hill, estimated at more than P4 million, but without the prior approval of the Sangguniang Panlungsod (SP).

The SP is currently still conducting a review of the proposed project.

Lignes said the plan of the project to use materials from the dredged from the mouth of the river will be a plus.

Dredging of the mouth of the Dagupan River, he said, will enhance the flow of water coming from upstream.

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