MORE NEWS, MOUNTAIN PROVINCE

Dangerous bridges need urgent repair in Mt Prov

BONTOC, Mountain Province — The provincial government urged the Department of Public Works and Highways to immediately repair rotting or decaying Bailey bridges in the province to prevent accidents and loss of lives and properties.

Officials said the safety of motorists passing through numerous Bailey and wooden bridges in the province is high risk since the problem of rotting and decaying parts is worsened by the rampant theft of their sway braces and other vital metal parts.

Provincial officials urged the DPWH to immediately replace the wooden planks of Bailey bridges or convert these to concrete.

Some bridges along provincial roads here have been the subject of numerous petitions by concerned community leaders asking these be repaired for fear that they will collapse in the future.

The punong barangay of Palitud, Paracelis town, accompanied by fellow barangay officials, recently sought the help of officials for the repair of the Sinigpit Bridge along the Butigue-Roxas provincial road.

The bridge has been reported in danger of surrendering to the heavy weight of agricultural and forest products loaded on trucks that are regularly being transported to the nearby province of Isabela and other parts of Northern and Central Luzon.

Paracelis town is a known producer of huge amounts of corn, bananas and rice, and even illegal Narra lumber being shipped out with the consent of corrupt Isabela officials.

The other Bailey bridges in the province are used to transport highland harvests to the La Trinidad vegetable trading post in Benguet for the consumption of Manila and lowland traders.

The provincial government requested Juan Ngalob, regional director of the National Economic Development Authority and interim chair of the Regional Development Council in the Cordillera, to include the repair and rehabilitation of bridges in the province under the President’s Bridge Program.

Earlier, the RDC-Cordillera Autonomous Region’s infrastructure committee chaired by Engr. Mariano Alquiza, DPWH-CAR regional director, endorsed the inclusion of the Mountain Province bridges in the President’s Bridge Program.

Among the local bridges in urgent need of funding are the Dacapeo bridge along the Tadian-Nacawang road, Dacudac bridge along the Balili-Pandayan road, Sinigpit bridge along the Butigue-Alangigan-Roxas road, and Gulpic bridge along the Abatan-Mabaay road.

At the same time, Alquiza urged the repair of the Amlosong Bridge once the materials to replace its stolen steel braces have been purchased. – Dexter A See