Fernan Bridge reopens all lanes to traffic

CEBU, Philippines - Commuters passing through the Marcelo Fernan Bridge could now heave a sigh of relief as the facility, which underwent repair in the past weeks, will be open to traffic starting tomorrow, July 14.

 Santiago Suico, Jr., district engineer of Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Cebu Sixth Engineering District Office said the contractor will finish the repair ahead of schedule, which was supposed to be on August 30 yet.

 “As of now, we are curing the bridge. This Saturday, open na ang atong bridge to all traffic. Pwede na ma agi-an ang tanang lane sa bridge,” said Suico in an interview with The FREEMAN yesterday. (All lanes would be open to motorists on Saturday.)

Suico said good planning and good weather condition helped a lot in completing the repair more than a month before the target date.

 Some lanes of the P2.3 billion cable-stayed bridge, which has a total length of 1,237 meters and a center span of 185 meters, were closed for repair starting June 4.

The repair cost was between P25 million to P30 million. The bridge repair was done in eight phases to avoid closing the entire bridge.

 Based on the original schedule, the phase three (right lane, beside the sidewalk) from Mandaue City to Lapulapu City of the repair is supposed to be completed on July 19 yet.

 Suico added that the bridge will be formally turned over by the contractor, PLD Construction, to the DPWH on July 28 as scheduled tentatively.The bridge is maintained by the DPWH.

The bridge was inaugurated by former President Joseph Estrada on August 3, 1999. It was constructed by the Kajima-Sumimoto Joint Venture and was funded through a loan obtained by the Philippine Government from the Overseas Economic Cooperation Fund of Japan.

 This gigantic infrastucture was built to decongest the traffic problem at the first Mactan-Mandaue bridge and as a symbol of friendship between the two countries.—/JPM (FREEMAN)