A new bridge project in Bohol is targeted to be operational by the first half of the year, according to the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).
Roger Mercado, DPWH secretary, reported that construction of the new Clarin Bridge along the Bohol Circumferential Road is at 82 percent to date and is set to be completed before the term of President Duterte ends in June 2022.
The new two-lane Clarin Bridge will replace the old bridge damaged during the Bohol earthquake in 2013.
DPWH has instructed contractor Vicente T. Lao Construction in partnership with Indonesia’s PT Wijaya Karya to expedite the construction of approach roads of the main bridge.
According to Francisco Sawali, Unified Project Management Office (UPMO) Roads Management Cluster 1 project manager, the new bridge crossing Loboc River is designed as a Nielsen Arch bridge spanning 104 meters with an approach road at Abutment “A” of 206 meters and at Abutment “B” of 271 meters.
The Clarin Bridge spans the Loboc River, a major tourism destination, and also offers an alternate route to Bohol’s Billar man-made forest as well as conservation areas for tarsiers and butterflies.
The Clarin Bridge Replacement Project costing P462 million is part of the Bohol
Circumferential Road Contract Package 3 under the DPWH road upgrading and preservation funded through a Japan International Cooperation Agency loan agreement.
Meanwhile, DPWH has signed a P684-million contract to prevent the overflowing of seven Metro Cebu rivers.
Emil Sadain, DPWH undersecretary for UPMO operations, said the UPMO Flood Control Management Cluster has posted a cumulative accomplishment of 95.5 percent in the implementation of the project contract for the river engineering intervention to protect properties and infrastructure from erosion and flooding in Cebu City and Mandaue City.
The project covers the continuation of revetment and dredging works for the Tipolo, Subangdaku, Tejero, Lahug, Guadalupe, Kinalumsan and Bulacao rivers. – Myla Iglesias
