GOVERNMENT recently inaugurated what is now considered as the country’s tallest bridge, the first in the country to be supported by 85-meter piers as tall as a 25-story building.

Built over a gorge on Agas-Agas mountain in Barangay Kahupian, Sogod, Southern Leyte, the bridge spans 1.5 kilometers and offers a breathtaking view from a deck in the middle.

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Agas-Agas Bridge is a project funded by official development assistance from the Japan International Cooperation Agency and the Philippine Government under the second phase of the Philippine-Japan Friendship Rehabilitation Project.

Sumitomo Mitsui Construction Co., Ltd. handled the project, which is seen as a permanent solution to the natural movements of loose soil aggregates, or landslides, in this mountainous area during rainy days.

Civil works started early in 2007.

The project used New Grand Portland cement manufactured by the Cebu-based Taiheiyo Cement Philippines, Inc. and supplied by Leyte Home Depot, Inc. The work entailed 350 meters of a cantilever pre-stressed bridge and 1.5 kilometers of concrete pavement, improvement of drainage system and slope protection.

President Gloria Maca-pagal-Arroyo inaugurated the Agas-Agas Bridge last Aug. 9 with Public Works Secretary Hermogenes Ebdane, Jr., Southern Leyte Gov. Damian Mercado and Japanese Ambassador Makoto Katsura. (PR)