Mt. Province-Ilocos Sur bridge done soon

By Dexter A. See 

CERVANTES, Ilocos Sur  – Travel time from the central Cordillera to the Ilocos provinces will be reduced by two and a half hours following the near completion of the P66 million upgrading of the 180-linal meter Aluling bridge that links the Ilocos and Cordillera regions passing over the Abra river.

Juan Ngalob, regional Director of the National Economic Development Authority in Region I, said apart from the significant reduction in travel time, socio economic activities, trade and commerce and tourism in the central Cordillera, particularly northern Benguet, Ifugao and Mountain Province, and the Ilocos provinces will surely have a big lift with the expected completion of the bridge project third quarter of this year.

            

“Motorists and traders will no longer have to take the circuitous route passing through Baguio City just to reach their points of destinations in the different parts of the Ilocos and Cordillera regions once the bridge will already be passable,” Ngalob, adding that the construction of the bridge was envisioned in 1978 but it will only be realized this year.

           

 Currently, the travel from Bontoc, Mountain Province to San Fernando city, La Union and vice versa passing through the Halsema highway and Baguio city is around 6 to 7 hours but once the Aluling bridge will be completed, the travel time to and from the said places will only become 3 and a half to 4 and a half hours depending on the type of vehicle to be used.

           

 The Aluling Bridge connects the towns of Cervantes, Ilocos Sur and Tadian, Mountain Province which are located at the border of the Ilocos and Cordillera regions and are only separated by the Abra River.

            

According to Ngalob, with more than three decades of construction, destruction and reconstruction, the bridge has witnessed not only natural disasters and human accidents, but also the obsolescence of engineering designs and methodologies.

           

 “Six national government administrations have come and gone and almost P200 million of government funds have been poured in the project, yet the bridge remains the missing link between the two provinces,” Ngalob said citing volume of vehicles travelling along the Mountain Province-Ilocos Sur road and the Abatan-Mankayan-Cervantes road will surely triple while economic activities in the remote communities will be enhanced.

            

In 1978, the Aluling Bridge was planned to be constructed using five spans of reinforced concrete box girder (RCBG) type structure.

           

The remaining works on the bridge project involve the construction of concrete shaft and coping of pier 2, spread footing at pier 1 including shaft and footing, fabrication of 11 PS girders and launching of 24 girders using the previously fabricated girders, construction of concrete deck slab for the entire bridge with concrete railings carriage way and sho7ulders at both approaches with concrete guardrails, thermoplastic pavement markings and road signages, and construction and demolition and removal of existing structures that impede traffic flow.

           

Ngalob explained the rehabilitation of the Mountain Province-Ilocos  Sur road, the Abatan-Mankayan-Cervantes road and the Aluling bridge were included as part of the Cordillera Road Improvement Project  in order to connect the region’s road laterals to other neighboring regions in order to spur economic growth beneficial in uplifting the living condition of poor people in the countryside.