San Juanico Bridge has cracks

TACLOBAN CITY—The San Juanico Bridge has sustained minor damage during the 7.6-magnitude earthquake on Aug. 31, according to the Department of Public Works and Highways Eastern Visayas (DPWH-8).

“We have noticed some cracks at the three piers or columns of the San Juanico Bridge which could be due to the earthquake,” said Rolando Asis, DPWH-8 director, on Friday.

The bridge, which connects Leyte and Samar islands, remains passable since the cracks are not alarming and could be repaired immediately, he added.

The damaged piers were located at piers 5, 33 and 34. Pier 5 is located at the Leyte side while the two other piers are on the Samar side. The bridge, which has a span of 2.1 kilometers, has more than 50 piers.

An engineering team would fix the damaged piers, which was discovered during their inspection on Thursday, Asis said.

“During our rapid assessment (last Saturday), we did not see the damaged piers. But during our inspection last Thursday, we discovered the three piers or columns that sustained some cracks,” he added.

The construction of San Juanico Bridge started in 1969 but was finished four years later during the administration of former President Ferdinand Marcos.

Asis said the damage costs of the public infrastructure affected by the Aug. 31 quake has reached P70 million.

The roads and bridges in Northern Samar sustained the biggest damage at P45 million followed by Eastern Samar at P12 million, Samar at P9 million and Tacloban City in Leyte at P4 million.

Asis said he could not provide details on the damaged infrastructure because he has yet to receive a copy of the detailed reports. He, however, said repair had been made on Layug Bridge in San Julian, Eastern Samar, which sustained minor damage in its slope protection section.