ORMOC CITY, April 21 (PNA) — The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) has begun work on a bridge that would serve as a vital link to the ongoing Albuera-Burauen Road construction.
The project will open a new connection between the eastern and western parts of Leyte and cut the 112-km. Ormoc-Tacloban travel distance by 50 kilometers (kms).
The structure is an arch bridge that would allow vehicles to cross Tabgas River located 7.3 kms. from the main road. This is the part where the Albuera-Burauen Road is cut due to the absence of an access to cross the river. It is actually a cliff that requires a tall bridge.
However, building a conventional concrete bridge supported by tall posts will cost more than PHP100 million. The DPWH thus opted for an aqueduct-type arch bridge which is economical in design costing only PHP56 million. Workers are currently building a huge tunnel 75 meters in length, five meters high and 10 meters wide where the water will run through.
The tunnel is targeted to be finished by May 15, after which it will be covered with earth through back-filling procedure up to 21 meters high to provide motorists a straight driving path when crossing the bridge. But even with the bridge, the entire project is far from being finished.
Lino Francisco Gonzales, head of the Department of Public Works and Highways Leyte fourth Engineering District, said they still need to develop seven kilometers of mountain road to reach the boundary of Burauen.
This will need PHP400 million more which is expected for release this year. Once completed, the Albuera-Burauen road will have a stretch of 36.22 kms. (PNA)