DPWH hastens San Juanico Bridge repair
TACLOBAN CITY—The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) in the Eastern Visayas region has vowed to complete retrofitting work on the iconic San Juanico Bridge by December 2025, or within the next five months, to allow it to carry vehicles weighing up to 15 tons.
DPWH Regional Director Edgar Tabacon said the accelerated time frame was based on the recent directive by President Marcos to hasten the repair of the 2.16-kilometer bridge that connects Samar and Leyte provinces.
Currently, only three-ton vehicles are allowed to pass the bridge, disrupting trade and commerce in the region.
“We will move heaven and earth just to complete the retrofitting at the San Juanico Bridge on or before December this year,” Tabacon told journalists during a press conference on Friday.
“No less than our President directed us to do so, and to increase the weight limit from the current 3 tons to 15 metric tons,” Tabacon added.
Tabacon said the agency has begun preparatory works, including portal shoring—a structural support system involving steel frames and scaffolding—to temporarily reinforce the bridge during construction.
DPWH will also rent barges from Cebu to facilitate access and staging during the rehabilitation phase, he added.
However, the actual retrofitting work will begin once the P520-million budget is released by the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council.
Marcos has directed both the DPWH and the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) to immediately resolve the funding requirements.
During his July 7 visit to Palo, Leyte, for the launch of Phases 2 and 3 of the National Fiber Backbone Program, the President announced that the bridge should be capable of handling 15-ton cargo trucks by December, stressing the economic necessity of completing the project on time.
He said that the P520-million budget for retrofitting work is part of a broader commitment of the national government to restore the structural integrity and functionality of the bridge, which was inaugurated in 1973 during the presidency of his father, Ferdinand Marcos Sr.
“I have instructed the DPWH and DBM to act swiftly and find a solution. We must act urgently to make the San Juanico Bridge safe and fully functional again,” he had said.
