Another E. Visayas bridge faces weight limit
TACLOBAN CITY—Load limitations will be imposed on another key bridge in Eastern Visayas.
The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) in the region has issued an advisory limiting the allowable weight of all vehicles crossing the Liloan Bridge in Southern Leyte to 3 tons starting July 4.
In its June 27 advisory, the DPWH said the new restriction is necessary due to structural damage sustained by the 298-meter steel bridge, which connects Panaon Island—composed of the towns of San Francisco, San Ricardo, Pintuyan and Liloan—to mainland Southern Leyte and serves as a key access point to Mindanao via Surigao City.
The bridge, constructed in 1977, was damaged by a magnitude 5.8 earthquake that struck the province on Jan. 23 this year.
The quake caused a widening space gap in the bridge’s steel expansion joint, prompting the agency to implement weight restrictions to prevent further deterioration.
Immediately after the quake, a 10-ton limit was imposed. This was reduced to 5 tons in March, and cut further to 3 tons by July 4.
Same as San Juanico
The new weight limit mirrors the restriction currently in place on the San Juanico Bridge which has also been reduced to 3 tons since May 15 after structural issues were detected.
The DPWH clarified that empty trucks weighing up to 5 tons will still be allowed to cross the Liloan Bridge until July 3, providing a grace period before the full enforcement of the 3-ton limit.
To ease the impact of the restriction, the DPWH has advised that roll-on, roll-off vehicles be used at the ports in Maasin City, San Juan town and Saint Bernard towns to get to the mainland.
Lord Byron Torrecarion, regional director of the Office of Civil Defense and chair of the Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, said the council was preparing a plan to ensure the continuous delivery of essential goods to the towns directly affected by the weight restriction.
“These are the critical towns that will be directly affected by the load restrictions,” Torrecarion said in an interview on June 26.
Full-scale repairs on the Liloan Bridge, which straddles the Liloan Strait, have yet to start due to funding limitations, although some retrofitting works have already been carried out following the earthquake.
