Investigation underway on bridge's cracks

CEBU, Philippines - The Department of Public Works and Highways has assured that appropriate measures will be done immediately on the reported cracks in the foundation of the Mactan-Mandaue Bridge.

DPWH assistant director Edgar Tabada yesterday assured that should it be true, appropriate actions will be done to avoid future accidents.

Tabada said that while he is not aware yet of this development, he will order an immediate investigation of this matter today.

The report on the crack was first brought up by Vice Governor Greg Sanchez who visited the site last Saturday and showed to reporters with the help of divers the said crack in the foundation of the bridge.

The crack was allegedly about one-inch wide and one meter long. Sanchez fears that the crack may grow severer if the government continues to ignore it and will cause more damage in the end especially that the bridge accommodates a heavy traffic of 4,000 vehicles everyday.

Cebu City Planning and Development Coordinator Paul Villarete, a member of the Mactan Cebu Bridge Management Board (MCBMB) urged the DPWH to provide a technical evaluation of the current capacity of the bridge so everyone may be enlightened and so officials may proceed with its plans and decisions.

Tabada said that they will have to check if the alleged crack is a new defect of the bridge or if it was the old crack reported and was already acted upon.

To recall, Villarete sometime in 2005 brought first the concern to the MCBMB. The board made a technical evaluation on 2008 but Villarete said that the report was not categorical because it only said that the bridge is generally safe to vehicles.

Through the years, many bridges have collapsed because of wrong design, wrong operation, corrosion, foundation failure, earthquakes, floods and strong winds among others.

While bridges are built to last for a long time, still, it has its limit or the end of its lifespan.

The Mactan-Mandaue Bridge was constructed in 1970 and was finished in 1972 at a cost of P65 million. It was designed and created purely by Filipino engineers.

It was severely damaged in 1990 at the height of a typhoon. From then on, the bridge was restricted to vehicles weighing more than 1.5 tons.

Despite the restriction, still, vehicles weighing more than 1.5 tons cross the bridge posing great risk for bridge collapse. This is the reason why the second Mactan Bridge was built – to support a steady economic growth in Metro Cebu and to provide a more reliable, safer road.   (FREEMAN NEWS)