Half of Lusapon bridge closed for repairs

A DAMAGED deck slab on the Lusapon bridge, which connects the towns of Boljoon and Oslob, is under repair, according to the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).

Engr. Jocelyn Orcullo, maintenance chief of DPWH Cebu’s fourth engineering district, said drivers of buses, trucks and private vehicles are advised to observe traffic advisories so that accidents will be prevented, as only one lane remains open to vehicular traffic.

DPWH noticed the damage on the deck slab last Nov. 20 and the repairs started last Jan. 6.

“The deck slab of the bridge has a hole. The damage was due to trucks carrying heavy loads that exceeded the capacity of the bridge. Also, the bridge is already old,” Orcullo said in Cebuano.

The bridge in Barangay Poblacion, Boljoon is about 40 meters long and has a capacity of 20 metric tons.

Vehicles going to Oslob, Santander or the Negros islands will have to pass through the bridge on the national highway.

However, Orcullo said trucks loaded with sand and gravel and trailers carrying heavy equipment passing the area will further damage the bridge if they will not follow the load limit.

DPWH personnel immediately placed a barricade so that vehicles will only pass through half of the twolane bridge.

“Any vehicle can pass one at a time,” Orcullo told Sun.Star Cebu in a phone interview.

A DPWH employee is also assigned in the area for 24 hours to ensure that vehicles will only pass one lane and drivers will be guided to avoid accidents.

Advisories were also installed in the neighboring towns, informing drivers about the repair and reminding them to limit their load to within 10 to 15 tons so that the damage on the deck slab will not worsen.

Orcullo said they traced and poured cement mix on the cracks of the deck slab last week.

She explained that the repair was delayed because they depended on the availability of funds.

DPWH will give further advisories to the public once the repair is done and the bridge is fully passable.