The damaged portion of the Dumlog Bridge. in Sibonga town was fixed by the contractor but was closed to traffic until the cement cures fully./ CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
TRAFFIC on the Dumlog bridge in Sibonga on Friday flowed smoothly despite the single-lane scheme implemented in the area for the curing of the cement on the Cebu City-bound lane.
Damiano Ofqueria, Sibonga Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (MDRRM) Officer, said using only one lane of the bridge “has only delayed the vehicles for two to three minutes.”
South bound and north bound vehicles alternated in using the south-bound lane.
Jonathan Tumulak,Provincial Focal Person on Traffic Management, said personnel from the Sibonga police station are manning the flow of vehicles while the other lane is still closed.
This will last for at least three days, enough for the curing of the cement used to fill the hole and cracks of the bridge.
“So far sa akong nadawat pod nga information from the ground, manageable ra man kaayo ang traffic. The LGU (local government unit) pod, gi-encourage nila nga kadtong dili kaayo dagko nga mga vehicle nga moagi sa diversion road,,” Tumulak said.
(The traffic flow was very manageable. The LGU also recommended that light vehicles use the diversion road and avoid passing through the bridge.)
Ofqueria said an alternative route that the motorists could take is the access road traversing Barangay Bagakay going up to Lindogon, passing the Simala shrine, and back to the national highway.
“Sa dili pa kaabot sa barangay hall sa Bagakay, right turn ang mga gamay nga sakyanan, tungas sa Lindogon. Modulhog sila unya molusot na sa highway,” Ofqueria said.
(Before reaching the Bagakay Barangay Hall, light vehicles may turn right to Lindogon and go down until they reach the national highway.)
However, bigger vehicles are advised to use the bridge as the access road is small, spanning about five feet.
Engr. Leslie Anthony Molina, chief of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Second Engineering District, said he recommended that the whole first segment of the bridge, spanning about 25 meters, be redone in order to ensure the quality of the structure.
Molina said DPWH already tendered a partial payment of 60 percent of the whole contract price of P60 million for the construction of the bridge.
Molina also said the contractor will have to make a detour road for the vehicles plying the area while they do the necessary rectification of the defects of the bridge.
Since the bridge has not yet been turned over to the DPWH, all costs entailed in the rectification and repair will be shouldered by the contractor and shall not be charged to the DPWH.