Vital Cagayan-Ilocos road link reopens

Department of Public Works and Highways

BAYOMBONG, Nueva Vizcaya, Philippines—The Magapit suspension bridge in Lal-lo, Cagayan, is scheduled to reopen on Thursday, after more than two months of closure for repairs, the Department of Public works and Highways said.

Reynaldo Tamayo, DPWH director for the Cagayan Valley, said they expect  both lanes of the 400-meter bridge to be opened to motorists as soon as the asphalt overlaying on its deck is completed on Thursday, about six months ahead of schedule.

The closure lasted for just about two months because “we asked the contractor to work overtime to avoid prolonging the inconvenience to commuters, who are being made to cross the river on makeshift barges,” he said.

The bridge, called Cagayan’s “Golden Gate” due to its similarity to the longer and famous bridge in San Francisco, California, spans the banks of the Rio Grande de Cagayan in Barangay Magapit and links the province’s eastern and western towns. It is the main access between Cagayan Valley and the Ilocos.

It was closed to traffic on June 8 to allow repairs costing P100 million, which included reinforcement of the bridge deck and the replacement of a pair of 34-meter steel trusses on one of the bridge’s 256-meter main suspension spans.

The DPWH announced that the closure would last for at least eight months, causing an uproar among local officials and residents.

During the closure, vehicles were diverted to detour roads on both ends of the bridge leading to the riverbank, where a docking facility was built for barges and boats used to transport people and goods.

The announcement of the bridge’s reopening came as welcome news for Cagayan residents.

“It becomes even better especially these days that ferry services are suspended every time the river swells and the current increases,” said Gregorio Ulibas, Jr., 20, a student and native of Abulug, Cagayan.

For every river crossing, each person has to pay P10, he said.

Jose Tobias, chief of the regional DPWH construction division, said the repairs could have been completed even earlier had work not been set back by bad weather in recent weeks.

“On a number of occasions, some segments of the asphalt overlay had to be redone as they failed quality standards. We noted some water contamination when the contractor went on with its work while it was raining,” he said.