Juanico bridge at night
The History
San Juanico Bridge is the longest bridge in the Philippines spanning a body of seawater. It connects the islands of Leyte and Samar by linking the city of Tacloban to the town of Santa Rita, Samar. It is part of the Pan-Philippine Highway and stretches from Samar to Leyte across the San Juanico Strait in the Philippines, the narrowest strait in the Philippines with only two kilometers (2,000 meters) wide at its narrowest point, which is also said to be the narrowest in the world. The bridge measures 2,164 m (7,100 ft) or 2.16 kilometers in total length. It has 43 steels spans with the primary span measuring 192 m (630 ft).
Its longest length is a steel girder viaduct built on reinforced concrete piers, and its main span is of an arch-shaped truss design.
The bridge is a project under the administration of then-President Ferdinand Marcos and it was constructed as a gift to his wife Imelda Marcos who is also known as the "Rose of Tacloban". The bridge was also dubbed as "The bridge of Love", for it was a testimonial of his love for her. And President Marcos even called it the most important gift for his wife.
Construction of the bridge commenced in 1969. It was completed within four years of construction in 1973, and was inaugurated in July 2 of the same year, the birthday of then-First Lady and wife of then-President Marcos, Imelda Marcos. The cost of the construction was US$22 million (about ₱140 million).
Bridge Rehabilitation
The bridge was slightly damaged by Super Typhoon Yolanda in Nov. 2013, known as Typhoon Hyain, but an immediate repair was made and reopened within the month.
In order to boost tourism between Leyte and Samar islands the Samar Governor Sharee Ann Tan come up with a proposal of installing LED lights n the bridge, with timed lighting effects for some occasions. The ₱80 million project dubbed as the San Juanico Bridge Lighting Project was approved by the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority on January 2018. The lighting project is projected to be completed in November 8, 2018 in time for the fifth anniversary of the onslaught of Typhon Haiyan in Eastern Visayas.
Economic Significance
The bridge is considered by the government as a main tourist destination of the Tacloban. San Juanico bridge is also serves as an important role for both the tourism and economies of the islands of Samar and Leyte by linking them.
It was constructed as part of the Pan-Philippine Highway (commonly known as the Maharlika Highway), a network of roads, bridges, and sea routes that connect the islands of Luzon, Samar, Leyte, and Mindanao in the country. It serve as part the country’s backbone of transportation.
Up to this day, the bridge remains to be the main gateway of Eastern Visayas. It has attracted a lot of tourists from all over the world because of the magnificent view it offers. And it remains strong despite of its age and countless typhoons that have visited the country specially Region VIII. Some say that it was because of the rituals done during the construction of the bridge.
So when come to Leyte or Samar, make sure to include San Juanico Bridge in your itinerary
So have you been in Leyte and Samar? Don’t miss to set foot on this historical bridge and see the beauty it offers around. See the blue seawater, the islands under it, and experience the bridge shake as vehicles passes by.
SOURCES of info & some of the photos:
https://faq.ph/10-facts-you-should-know-about-san-juanico-bridge-in-samar-and-leyte/
wikipedia
san juanico facebook page
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