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| Laoag's Gilbert Bridge. (Doms dela Cruz) |
By Dominic B. Dela Cruz
Staff reporter
Laoag
City—The famous Gilbert Bridge is scheduled
for major repairs and rehabilitation, the Department of Public Works and
Highways project engineer Angelito Dian announced.
Mr. Dian said the DPWH
regional office through regional director Melanio Briosos has informed Laoag
Mayor Chevylle V. Fariñas formally on the repair,
He disclosed that one side of
the bridge will be temporarily closed for the rehabilitation.
Among the processes to be
used on the bridge include application of epoxy mortar and glass fiber reinforced
polymer coat on top and below the bridge deck. To do this, he said one side of
the bridge must be closed to all types of traffic.
So as not to totally close
the bridge to traffic, he said the concrete median will be removed. This, he
said, is to allow traffic to pass through the other side of the bridge.
In the project map, the
bridge’s eastern portion will first be closed. The western portion will however
be opened to two-way traffic.
The project will be
undertaken by Werr Corporation International through a joint venture with
Viking Construction and Supply.
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| The project's details. (Doms dela Cruz) |
Meanwhile, Ms. Fariñas
confirmed that she was already informed about the project.
She said she has instructed
the city’s traffic division about the issue. She added that the two schemes
DPWH recommended have also been passed on to the said division.
She stressed that the final
traffic scheme regarding the bridge repair should come from the traffic
division chief. She however pointed out that the scheme should not affect the
public more than necessary. She also added that the public must be informed
before it is implemented.
The mayor also called on the
public to cooperate with the traffic scheme to be implemented. She also asked
for understanding while underscoring that the bridge’s repair would be for
everybody’s safety.
Ms. Fariñas also divulged
that the city government would not have any counterpart funding on the project.
She said the rehabilitation project will be shouldered fully by the national
government.
The
Ilocos Times learned that the project costs
P200 million.
The Gilbert Bridge was
constructed in 1884 and was named after then Governor Newton Gilbert. Its
present structural design was intended to suit the demands of the times. It
traverses the pristine Padsan River and serves as the “gateway” to Laoag City.
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