THE DEPARTMENT of Public Works and Highways-Region 6 (DPWH-6) has asked the regional office of the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) to issue an order immediately suspending quarrying activities up to two kilometers downstream of the Suage Bridge, which is in danger of collapsing. The foundation of the bridge’s pier 1 was damaged during supertyphoon Yolanda (international name: Haiyan) in 2013 and sank significantly, causing the pier to tilt towards the New Suage Bridge, which is part of the road connecting the provinces of Iloilo and Capiz. The problem has been exacerbated by excessive quarrying. Over the weekend, the DPWH, in cooperation with the provincial and municipal governments, conducted remedial works on the old bridge located in Janiuay, Iloilo. “These immediate interventions were taken otherwise, one of the approaches of the New Suage Bridge may collapse and render it impassable to vehicles going to and coming from the nearby towns of Lambunao, Calinog and Bingawan,” said DPWH-6 OIC-Assistant Regional Director Jose Al V. Fruto. DPWH earlier met with stakeholders and it was agreed to divert the flow of the river away from the bridges’ abutment by establishing a pilot channel in the middle. DPWH will be sealing the gap in between the exposed abutment sheet piles of the old and new bridges. — Louine Hope Conserva

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