NAIA Parking Now p1200 Per Night

[OnMyWay]

45 minutes ago, scott h said:

(like the sailors would in the PI and boys would dive to get them).

Off topic but a bit relevant to what you were saying, Korea vs. PH.  I'm tagging @Jake just in case he peeks in.  If I recall correctly, Jake used to dive for coins off the Magsaysay Bridge here in Subic, when he was a young whippersnapper growing up here.  The bridge was condemned years ago.  I'm not sure when but I think 20+ years ago.

They finally got a budget to rebuild it.  2018 I think.  They started working on it in 2019.  I think it was going to take a year.  Then covid hit and of course work slowed down.  Covid passed and the work dragged on and on and on.  It became known as the "Forever bridge".  Earlier this year they declared it would be done in April.  Then June.  Then August.  They finally got smart and stopped making predictions.

So surprise, surprise, it opened to traffic yesterday and I drove across it for the first time today.  They still haven't finished the intersection works on both sides, but you can walk and drive across.  Not sure about diving!  Five years in the making!  Pedestrians were allowed first last week and said the roof leaks.  When I drove over the fresh asphalt today, I noticed some flaws (holes) that were fairly good sized.

[Possum]

Just now, OnMyWay said:

Magsaysay Bridge here in Subic

Any idea how much it cost?

[OnMyWay]

16 minutes ago, Possum said:

Any idea how much it cost?

Budget was 442 million in 2019, supposed to take 540 calendar days, to be completed in 2021.  I'm looking to see if I can find actual but it is not completely finished.  And I just read it is only a dry run from yesterday til Monday.

https://punto.com.ph/sbma-starts-p442-7-m-magsaysay-bridge-project/

SBMA starts P442.7-M Magsaysay bridge project
By Malou Dungog - November 19, 2019 2001 0
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Pedestrians monopolize traffic at the Magsaysay Bridge leading to the Subic Bay Freeport main gate since the span was closed to vehicles in 2009. Notice the park bench bolted on the surface of the span to serve as rest area for pedestrians. Photo by Malou Dungog

SUBIC BAY FREEPORT — The much-awaited project to replace a US Navy-era bridge that serves as the major connection between the Subic Bay Freeport Zone and Olongapo City is now underway, 10 years after the concrete span was closed to vehicular traffic due to deterioration.

Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) chair and administrator Wilma T. Eisma said the agency has allocated P442.7 million to build a fourlane span to replace the twolane Magsaysay Bridge, as well as improve the Main Gate security facilities and upgrade road network, drainage structures and signage in the immediate area.

The project, which is expected to be finished by the first quarter of 2021, is designed to improve access and mobility, revitalize business in the area, and generate more opportunities for local livelihood.

“Aside from improving accessibility to the Subic Bay Freeport because this connects to the main artery in Olongapo, which is the Magsaysay Drive and Rizal Avenue, this project also takes into consideration public safety and convenience because the bridge is heavy in foot traffic,” Eisma pointed out.

“It also reflects our preparations for the boom in local tourism business, as this will improve the appearance of the Main Gate, which used to be the iconic symbol of Subic since when it became a naval base,” she added.

The project, which will be undertaken by the consortium of Front Nine Konstruct Builders & Realty Development Corp., Qingdao Municipal Construction Group Co., Ltd., and Rebcor Construction and Trading Corp., is part of the agency’s rebuilding thrust to sustain Subic as an investment hub and center of economic growth.

Recently, the SBMA announced a P1.6-billion program to repair ageing facilities constructed when Subic was still an American naval base, a badly-needed upgrade, Eisma said.

“For almost two decades now, the Navy-era facilities in Subic remained as they were. We’re now fixing these because the better our facilities are, the more businesses and jobs we can generate,” she said.

The deterioration of the Magsaysay Bridge, which was built by the US Navy in the early ‘60s, was detected as early as 1999 when experts restricted its maximum load capacity to 20 tons. The bridge was eventually closed to vehicular traffic in 2009.

However, actual construction was put on hold over the years due to budget constraints and it was only last year that the SBMA funded a new detailed engineering design for a new structure.

According to the SBMA Engineering Department, the new Magsaysay Bridge will be a 72.5-meter multi-span slab bridge, about 600 mm thick on the average and with a total carriage width of 24.15 meters. It will also have a covered walkway for pedestrians.

The bridge project will also involve the demolition and removal of the existing two-lane span; construction of security gate and fence at the Main Gate; and building of a new covered walkway from Magsaysay Bridge to the intersection of Rizal Highway, which is a major road in Subic’s central business district.

The package will also include construction of new intersection and road expansion in the Main Gate area; building of drainage structures; and relocation of existing facilities for power, water, sewerage and telecommunications.

As of now, the contractor is starting work on the foundations for a temporary pedestrian bridge that will be built before the existing bridge is demolished.

The new Magsaysay Bridge is expected to be finished within 540 calendar days, Eisma said.

[hk blues]

14 hours ago, Possum said:

Any idea how much it cost?

I'll guess on time and on budget.

Aren't all projects here like that?  At least that's what the info. on those big boards they put up when major projects are started says and I for one believe them. 

[OnMyWay]

19 hours ago, OnMyWay said:

Magsaysay Bridge here in Subic,

1968

[Mike J]

15 hours ago, OnMyWay said:

1968

ZZ Top - Girls go crazy for sharp dressed man. 

Edited October 31 by Mike J

[OnMyWay]

3 hours ago, Mike J said:

ZZ Top - Girls go crazy for sharp dressed man. 

OK, you started me off on two other tangents!  ......

Last night at the mall, there were some Korean Navy sailors.  When I have seen them ashore, they are sharply dressed in spotless white uniforms.  Very sharp!  Women and men.

And this popped up a few days ago.  Remember the movie "An Officer and a Gentleman"?  Richard Gere was the sharp dressed man in that one.  Apparently, they filmed some of the opening scenes, when he was a kid, in Olongapo!

 

[OnMyWay]

On 10/30/2024 at 8:07 PM, OnMyWay said:

If I recall correctly, Jake used to dive for coins off the Magsaysay Bridge here in Subic, when he was a young whippersnapper growing up here. 

[OnMyWay]

Found a picture of Jake!

Coin divers and barker on the river by the Subic Naval Base main gate bridge
Photo from the 1971-72 USS Ashtabula Westpac Cruise Book