The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) aims to increase the current 3-ton load limit at the San Juanico Bridge to as much as 12 tons in as quickly as six months to help arrest the transport mayhem that has forced Samar authorities to declare a state of emergency in the province.
Public Works chief Manuel M. Bonoan has tapped the services of global engineering consultants Angel Lazaro and Associates to craft the work program that would make the near-term goal possible.
According to Secretary Bonoan, the end goal is to raise the three-week old load limit eventually to 33 tons as originally designed. The engineering consultants have designed the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway, done export processing and heritage site restorations across the Philippines and road infrastructure projects in countries like Vietnam, Bangladesh, even Afghanistan.
Public works engineers in Region 8 based in Tacloban City said the Bonoan Plan, as directed by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. himself, takes into account the funding and the resources, the pre-construction timeline and the five-month civil works necessary to execute the presidential mandate in full.
Boosting the load limit to 33 tons will allow the large buses, multiple axle haulers, SUVs and passenger cars to cross the 2.16-kilometer bridge again without restrictions. Vehicles lower than 3 tons are permitted to cross the bridge, but this has severely restricted the flow not just of people between regions but also of critical items as fuel and food.
Also, the state of disrepair at the 52-year-old bridge is such that permitted vehicles cross in stringent batches 15 to 20 minutes long, and in single file only at the centerline, resulting in long queues of vehicles at both ends of the span.
As this develops, the Philippine Information Agency in Tacloban reported the near completion of reactive emergency civil works at the Amandayehan Port in Basey, Eastern Samar, which is only 20 to 30 minutes by boat to the Leyte capital. This contrasts against the five- or six-hour ferry ride from Catbalogan to Ormoc City for transport vehicles exceeding the 3 ton limit, costing as much as P18,000 each, one way.
Logistics companies have expressed apprehension over government agency reports the Amandayehan facilities have “limited cargo handling” capabilities as constructed, which means continued restricted flow of people and goods at the shortest point between Leyte and Samar. This also means that bulk cargo will continue to use the expensive Catbalogan-to-Ormoc route serviced by the same roll-on-roll-off ferry, the Sta Clara Shipping, proposing to link the Amandayehan Port to the Port of Tacloban.
Quick Sta. Clara Shipping response to the transport crisis, having been the first to try out the extremely limited capabilities of the port just a few days after the San Juanico was unceremoniously closed by authorities, compelled local government officials in Samar and Leyte to stampede ad hoc measures to prevent a logistics mayhem from happening.
The government owned information portal PIA reported the Amandayehan Port, a local government facility, has to seek Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA) certification that its passenger and cargo handling facilities are up to standards set by government before the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) takes over as port managers.
“In light of the urgent transport needs and long-awaited activation, PPA and MARINA are earnestly requested to exercise regulatory flexibility and provide technical guidance throughout this transitional phase, with special attention from their designated personnel to ensure safe, efficient and compliant port operations,” the DPWH in Tacloban said.
