Aquino opens P675-million Pamplona bridge in Cagayan

President Benigno S. Aquino III personally inspect the Old Pamplona Bridge with Public Works Secretary Rogelio Singson during the Inauguration Ceremony of the new Pamplona Bridge in Barangay Masi, Pamplona, Cagayan on Monday (May 02, 2016). (Photo by Joseph Vidal/ Malacañang Photo Bureau)

TUGUEGARAO CITY – President Benigno Aquino III on Monday formally opened the P675-million Pamplona bridge in Cagayan’s Pamplona town, allowing traffic to use the gateway from Cagayan to the Cordillera and Ilocos regions.

The new bridge spans 489.80 meters. Work to construct the bridge began in February 2013. It was completed in April.

Aquino also visited the old and dilapidated bridge, for which the Pamplona town council had petitioned the National Historical Institute to preserve because of its historic value to villagers. Engineer Jose Tobias, chief of the Cagayan Valley construction division of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), said the agency would assess the overall structural strength of the old bridge before it would be opened to tourists.

The ceremony triggered an afternoon traffic jam from the junction of Luna town in Apayao to Sanchez Mira town in Cagayan, but resident Helly Bautista said she did not mind joining the crowd for a glimpse of the President. JE/rga