Bohol folk worry over stability of aging bridges

TOO HEAVY A truck carrying sand beyond the load limit of Borja Bridge in Catigbian, Bohol, caused the bridge to collapse on Thursday. —LEO UDTOHAN

TAGBILARAN CITY—The collapse of yet another bridge in Bohol province has raised concerns about the safety of its aging structures.

Many residents of the province took to social media to air their fears and concerns about their bridges after another span fell apart on Thursday.Some Boholanos said a number of bridges in the province may be unfit for use since they were constructed decades ago.

“The news about the two bridges that collapsed will discourage tourists and businessmen from visiting Bohol,” one netizen said.

The provincial engineer’s office in Bohol revealed that overloading caused the Borja Bridge in Catigbian town to collapse on Thursday morning.

In his report to Gov. Arthur Yap, Provincial Engineer Camilo Gasatan said the truck that passed in the area carried a load a lot heavier than the maximum capacity of the bridge.

The about-20-year-old Borja Bridge has a load limit of 20 tons but the 12-wheeler truck owned by the Alturas Group of Companies weighed around 8 tons and was loaded with 24 cubic meters of wet sand with a weight estimate of at least 38.4 tons, or a total of 46.4 tons.

Truck driver Nemerico Paredes, 46, said he came from Cortes town and was heading to Alicia town when the incident happened.

“The bridge suddenly gave way,” he said.

Aside from the truck, there were no other vehicles on the structure when it collapsed.

The bridge was one of the key routes between the provincial capital Tagbilaran City and Sagbayan town and other municipalities in the province.

This was the second bridge in Bohol that collapsed in a span of less than two months.

On April 27, the Olegario B. Clarin Sr. Bridge, commonly called the Clarin Bridge in Loay town, which was built in the 1970s, ruptured under the weight of a number of vehicles and collapsed into the 8-meter-deep Loboc River. Four persons died while 24 others were injured in that accident. —LEO UDTOHAN

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