THE Davao City Engineering Office (CEO) identified overloading as the cause of the collapse of the bridge at Calinan Riverside last Saturday.
CEO chief lawyer Joseph Dominic Felizarta, in a media interview Monday, May 8, said based on their assessment, the bridge has a five-ton capacity while the passing truck weighed up to 10 tons.
He said during the time that the bridge collapsed, their personnel built a temporary bridge passable by people in the area.
"Gibuhatan ug temporary nga bridge aron kaagi ang mga tao pero ang mga vehicles mutuyok jud sila sa Calinan so ang atong gihimo karon gikuhaan namo’g police report. Natultulan naman last Saturday kinsa ang tag-iya sa sakyanan nga naka-cause sa pag bar down sa bridge so ato silang pabayron (A temporary bridge was built so that citizens can pass through, but the vehicles will use another road in Calinan. Since we've known from the police report the identity of the owner of truck, which caused the collapse down of the bridge, we will ask them to pay for the damages)," he said.
Felizarta said they will communicate with the owner or operator of the truck and will ask them to come to their office.
Due to the incident, Felizarta advised the public to read the capacity of the bridge that they will pass through.
r"Our advice to them is that they should check the capacity of the bridge since it is provided. If their load is too heavy they should not dare to pass," he said.
He said they are conducting inventory to other bridges, saying that they will reinforce more steel as they can.
"Karon nag-emergency purchase mi ug kahoy ug ginatan-aw namo sa among mga existing nga steel…for the bridge kung naa mi magamit (We have made an emergency purchase for lumber and also check the existing steel that we can use for the bridge repair)," he said. (KVC)