In’t meet in Cebu City prompts DPWH to move 2nd bridge’s repair on Monday

THE Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) 7 will start the repair of the Marcelo B. Fernan Bridge on Monday.

Engr. Renult Ricardo of the DPWH 7 Sixth District Engineering Office said the asphalt overlay on the first Mandaue-Mactan Bridge has been completed, but they will not proceed to the second bridge until March 18 to avoid causing inconvenience to participants of an international conference in Cebu City.

The Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry is hosting the 27th Confederation of Asia Pacific Chamber of Commerce and Industry Conference, a two-day event that will end today.

Next week, the contractor of the DPWH 7 will put pavement markings and start repairing steel components under the first bridge.

On Monday, one lane of the Marcelo B. Fernan Bridge going to Mandaue City will be closed from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. Ricardo said three lanes of the bridge will always be open to traffic.

PLD Construction, the contractor hired by the DPWH 7, will remove and replace the asphalt pavements of the bridge and repair two of its expansion joints. The repair will be done within 90 days.

Coordination

Ricardo said they will ensure that the repair of the second bridge will not cause traffic jams, like what happened during the first few days of repair on the first bridge.

“We have already coordinated with the traffic departments of Mandaue City and Lapu-Lapu City,” Ricardo told reporters yesterday.

The DPWH 7 had planned to do the repairs around the clock, but when the closure of one lane of the first bridge caused massive traffic congestion for two days, they decided to do the repairs at night.

The repairs on the first bridge started last Feb. 25.

If the weather cooperates, they can finish the asphalting of each lane of the Marcelo B. Fernan Bridge within two weeks, Ricardo said.

The DPWH allocated P18 million to replace the asphalt and corroded bars and steel trusses of the first bridge.

Some P27 million was set aside to replace the asphalt and two expansion joints of the Marcelo B. Fernan Bridge.

The DPWH 7 implemented the project ahead of the election ban on infrastructure projects, which takes effect on March 29.