DPWH reopens reconstructed Leyte bridge

CARIGARA, Leyte, Sept. 29 (PNA) -- After a year of widening and reconstruction activities, a vital bridge connecting a road that links the two major cities in the province is now passable.

The Department of Public Works and Highways formally opened this week the two lanes of Hiagsam Bridge located within the highway that connects Tacloban City to Ormoc City and Biliran province.

“The bridge’s finishing touches is not yet done, but we just opened half of it to ensure smooth traffic flow,” said Carlos Veloso, district engineer of the DPWH Leyte 2nd engineering district.

The bridge costs PHP74 million funded through the 2015 calamity fund and regular budget of the DPWH this year.

The bridge was among those structured destroyed during the onslaught of typhoon Seniang in December 2014.

The reconstructed bridge is said to be resilient to flooding and earthquake.

The repair was delayed after the contractor asked for extension to rebuild the bridge, pushing the completion date until this month.

Veloso said that after the reconstruction of the bridge last June, a second bridge has been constructed just beside the old one, to complement the road widening project.

Key DPWH officials in the district led the reopening of the bridge.(PNA)
JMC/SQM/LIZBETH ANN A. ABELLA/EGR