THE Mananga Bridge in Barangay Tabunok in Talisay City will not be fully opened to the public on Sunday, Aug. 4, 2019.
Only one of the two lanes that are currently under repair will be passable by then.
The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) initially announced that work on the bridge would be completed by then, but the contractor appealed to the City Government for a two-week extension.
“On Aug. 4, one lane will be opened. The other lane will undergo additional repairs that will take two weeks. I really thought the bridge would be totally opened by next week. But you know that the DPWH is not answerable to the City. They are answerable to the national (central office). We are trying our best to ask them to fast-track the repairs,” Mayor Gerald Anthony Gullas Jr. said in Cebuano.
On Sunday, only the inner portion of the northbound lane of the bridge will be opened to traffic, he said.
Jonathan Tumulak, head of the City of Talisay Traffic Operations Development Authority, already spoke to Jun dela Cruz, maintenance head of the DPWH 1st Engineering District, to discuss the matter.
Tumulak said dela Cruz will ask the contractor to assign more personnel working on the bridge to hasten repairs and to make sure the structure will be sturdy.
Meanwhile, Mayor Gullas is worried that traffic on that portion of the highway will get really bad on Aug. 11 because of the Regent Aguila Ironman 70.3 Philippines that will be held in Cebu. The race route will cross three kilometers of the south coastal road in Talisay City.
According to Tumulak, the DPWH 7 had assured that motorists could use the whole Mananga Bridge by then. (from FMD of Superbalita Cebu/PJB)