Portion of bridge to be closed 24 hours

PORTIONS of the Marcelo Fernan Bridge are closed around the clock for the repair of two expansion joints.

The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) 7 started the repairs on the outer lane going to Mandaue City last Monday night.

Some 200 meters of the lane on the side of Lapu-Lapu City and another 200 meters on the side of Mandaue City have been closed since Tuesday afternoon.

The scraping of the old asphalt was scheduled to start last night.

Engr. Renult Ricardo of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) 7 said they started fixing the expansion joints last Monday night.

After replacing the expansion joints, these will be filled with cement. Ricardo said they have to close these portions around the clock because the curing of the cement will take a week.

Closure

The contractor hired by the DPWH 7 closed the portions starting 2 p.m. last Tuesday.

The rest of the lane will still be open to traffic from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Beyond these hours, the lane will be closed for the asphalting.

Ricardo said they are fixing the expansion joints and replacing the asphalt, one lane at a time.

Motorcycles and bicycles are not allowed to enter the two lanes going to Mandaue City because the uneven road surface caused by the scraping of asphalt is not safe for two-wheeled vehicles.

The vehicles are diverted to the first Mandaue-Mactan Bridge for the duration of the asphalting.

Accident

Last March 9, a 25-year-old man died after he rammed his motorcycle into an Isuzu dump truck that was hauling asphalt on the first Mandaue-Mactan Bridge.

The accident happened at dawn when the lane was supposed to be closed to traffic.

The motorist reportedly entered the closed lane despite warnings from workers of the contractor doing the repairs.

Ricardo said the contractor requested traffic officials of both cities to divert two-wheeled vehicles to the other bridge to prevent another accident.