Marcos calls for strict, regular inspections of San Juanico Bridge
TACLOBAN CITY—President Marcos on Friday visited the San Juanico Bridge to inspect ongoing retrofitting works and announced the reopening on the same day of the structure to 15-ton trucks, months ahead of the initial projection.
During the on-site briefing, the President reiterated the urgent need for regular inspection and proper maintenance of one of the country’s iconic bridges, saying government could have avoided the massive P1.1-billion retrofit cost had the structure been checked consistently over the years.
Load limit
“We are back at the San Juanico Bridge,” Marcos said, recalling that the bridge had to be closed and restricted after authorities discovered extensive damage caused by years of insufficient maintenance.
“The retrofit costs us P1.1 billion. That is money we could have saved if proper maintenance was carried out.”
Marcos said engineers initially targeted allowing 12-ton trucks to pass by Christmas or New Year, but faster progress enabled them to open the bridge to heavier, 15-ton vehicles ahead of schedule.
“Fortunately, the work has been done a little faster and now we can open it up to 15-ton trucks,” he said, noting that this will ease the burden on transporters who have been forced to use roll-on/roll-off routes to move goods between Samar and Leyte islands.
Local officials, he added, are studying the possibility of allowing 30-ton trucks to pass one-way during nighttime when traffic is lighter.
