TUGUEGARAO CITY, Cagayan- The newly-completed mega bridge in Abulug town in Cagayan province was opened to public recently, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) said.
The P631-million Lucban Bridge funded during the administration of President Benigno Aquino III was inaugurated by Transportation Secretary Art Tugade, Second District Congresswoman Aline Vargas-Alfonso, DPWH officials and other local officials in the province.
The new bridge replaced the 49-year old bridge that connects the Daang Maharlika in the east via Isabela Province and Tuguegarao City and the Manila North Road in the west via Laoag City.
The old bridge had undergone rehabilitation several times but some of its parts continued to break down, the last time of which was in May 2016, where a part of the bridge almost collapsed.
Engineer Jose Tobias, chief of the construction division of DPWH Region 2, said the steel trusses continue to deteriorate, causing some parts to collapse, “necessitates its immediate replacement to sustain demands of economic activities in the area.”
As of press time, the old bridge is now halfway of being dismantled.
DPWH-2 information officer Welson Valdez, in a press release, said the 825-lineal meter Lucban Bridge crossing over the Abulug-Apayao river is seen to boost trade and tourism in Region 2.
Valdez said the bridge was constructed 15 meters upstream of the old bride to guarantee that the general public will have safer and more efficient access to and from the regions of Cagayan Valley, Ilocos, and the Cordilleras.
“These developments are deemed toward attracting legitimate and productive local and foreign investments, thus, creating employment opportunities not only in the province, but the whole country as well,” he said.
Meanwhile, Rep. Vargas-Alfonso thanked those who helped in the lobbying for the funding of the said bridge, which she said was her first priority when she entered the Congress in 2010. -Northernforum.net
