I came back from a trip to find the road in front of our home suddenly become a busy road. The road is the only alternate route to the main road in our subdivision and with the rehabilitation work on the main road, residents from the inner parts of the village have no choice but to go through a longer route when leaving and returning home.

Start of roadworks – my first observation was that there was no proper curing applied to the new concrete pavement.

Crushed rock base layer beside Portland Cement Concrete Pavement (PPCP) slab

Completed lane without curing – proper curing means the slab should have been watered as concrete releases heat as it hardens. With the hot weather we experience during the dry season, curing is all the more important for the concrete to achieve the desired strength over the typical period of 14 to 21 days.

End of the project – the project is with the City of Antipolo and part of our subdivision is in the Municipality of Taytay. The concreting ends at the boundary of Antipolo and Taytay.

A look back at the section under rehabilitation

With the increased number of trucks entering the subdivision due to the many residential construction projects currently on full swing, I hope that the concrete slabs will not be damaged and require major repair. The fact that the contractor did not cure the concrete properly brings questions whether the concrete was able to achieve full strength over the prescribed period. This is actually a reflection of current construction practices in the country that were subject of several researches we’ve made and presented in several venues. The issue remain generally disregarded by the DPWH and likely by most local government units for projects under them.

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