Benise Balaoing

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. graces the ceremonial switch-on of the San Juanico Aesthetic Lighting Project on October 20, 2022. The 2.16 km San Juanico Bridge, which links the provinces of Samar and Leyte, was built during the administration of the President’s father, the late president Ferdinand Marcos Sr. and was funded by Japan’s War Reparations Program. PPA Pool

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MARCOS-BRIDGE

Katrina Domingo

ABS-CBN News

<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/174781493460420221020-marcos-san-juanico-PPA-384.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. graces the ceremonial switch-on of the San Juanico Aesthetic Lighting Project on October 20, 2022. PPA Pool/File"/>President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. graces the ceremonial switch-on of the San Juanico Aesthetic Lighting Project on October 20, 2022. PPA Pool/File</div>MANILA -- The engineering design of the “second San Juanico Bridge” is set to be finalized by 2026, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) said on Wednesday, as the agency continues to retrofit the 2.16-kilometer link between Leyte and Samar provinces.The “second San Juanico Bridge” will be adjacent to the Philippines longest bridge that was built during the administration of former President Ferdinand Marcos Sr., DPWH Secretary Manuel Bonoan told Malacañang reporters.“The new bridge is now under preparation. It will be one of the flagship projects under this administration,” he said, noting that the project will be financed by the Japanese government.“Mas mahaba po ito. This will be about 2,600 meters,” he said.“We hope that the engineering design will be completed by 2026,” he said.The initial plan of the government was to construct the second bridge before closing down the 52-year old San Juanico Bridge for “major rehabilitation works,” Bonoan said.<div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/regions/2025/5/20/what-s-wrong-with-san-juanico-bridge-0946">READ: What’s wrong with San Juanico Bridge?</a></div>“Unfortunately, in the preliminary assessment of the San Juanico Bridge, sa approach structures may nakita na mga segmets that are already in the state of deterioration so it was recommended na dapat i-close na agad,” he said.“Hindi po namin plinaplano na magkaroon ng temporary bridge at this point in time because if you are going to construct a temprary bridge across 2 kilometers of the strait, it will take years na naman,” he said.Earlier this month, the government has restricted access to the San Juanico Bridge to vehicles weighing up to 3 tons as repairs begin.This has prompted Samar to declare a state of emergency due to the difficulty of transporting gasoline and other commodities that were previously transported to the province via cargo trucks and other heavy vehicles.“We are doing our best na kung matapos po naming kumpunihin yung mga deteriorating sections sa approaches, we might be able to increase the load limit sometime within the year,” the DPWH chief said.“We may be able to increase it up to 10 tons. Most of the vehicles will be allowed except heavy loads maybe [in the] last quarter,” he said.The Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) is now crafting new cargo routes from the port of Matnog in Sorsogon to Carigara in Leyte to lessen traders’ dependence on the San Juanico Bridge, he said.The DPWH earlier said that it expects to finish repairing the San Juanico Bridge in 2 years, with the price tag of about P900 million.

The engineering design of the “second San Juanico Bridge” is set to be finalized by 2026, the DPWH said.

The engineering design of the “second San Juanico Bridge” is set to be finalized by 2026, the DPWH said.

Engineering design of ‘second San Juanico Bridge’ to be completed in 2026: DPWH

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Engineering design of ‘second San Juanico Bridge’ to be completed in 2026: DPWH

Katrina Domingo,

ABS-CBN News

Published May 21, 2025 04:13 PM PHT

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