THE northbound lane of Bolton Bridge in Davao City was reopened to motorists on Friday, April 1, 17 days ahead of its original schedule.

The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH)-Davao Region announced it a day before its reopening.

The portion of the bridge had to be closed supposedly for a month from March 18 to April 18, 2022 to make way for repairs of damages.

DPWH-Davao spokesperson Dean Ortiz said in a previous report that the closure was intended for its retrofitting activities by installing carbon fiber reinforced polymer to all girders to address the damage under the said bridge caused by a recent fire incident.

The fire incident under Bolton Bridge caused approximately P200,000 worth of damage. The incident affected 45 families and wrecked 24 houses, while two houses were damaged.

In an online message, the official said they were able to finish ahead as the repair was done 24 hours.

"Nahuman nato 17 days ahead of schedule ang pagretrofit sa Bolton Bridge II tungod sa 24/7 na pagtrabaho sa atoang contractor na assigned sa maong proyekto (We were able to finish the retrofitting of the Bolton Bridge II 17 days ahead of schedule because the work was done by the contractor assigned by the project 24/7)," Ortiz said.

He said, however, that repairs of Bridge 1 are still ongoing, but it will no longer require temporary closure.

"We can assure the riding public na safe agihan ang maong mga tulay (it is safe to traverse the bridge). In fact, we have already increased the load capacity sa Bolton Bridge II to accommodate vehicles 27 tons and below while nagpabilin na 6 tons paubos ang load capacity bridge 1 tungod sa ongoing na pag-ayo niini (the load capacity of the Bridge 1 remains six tons below due to the ongoing repairs)," the DPWH official said.

A portion of the Bolton Bridge was closed to the riding public in August 2021 for repair purposes.