SCTEX bridge open to traffic

CLARK FREEPORT, Pampanga – The 49-meter Bailey Bridge along the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX), which was damaged at the height of Typhoon Maring in August, was opened to all vehicles at 6 a.m. yesterday.

The bridge was initially opened to light vehicles last Sept. 9.

The bridge has a maximum capacity of 25 tons and can accommodate Class 3 vehicles or heavy and multi-axled trucks and trailers.

The Department of Public Works and Highways and the Bases Conversion Development Authority (BCDA) constructed the bridge for nine days.

The strong current of the Pasig-Potrero River, pushed by the heavy downpour at the height of Maring, eroded up to 10 hectares of land along its banks, including the southern approach to the bridge in Porac.

The  bridge was installed as a temporary link to the 94-kilometer SCTEX.

 The BCDA could not immediately say when the reconstruction of the permanent portion of the bridge would be started. There were proposals to add another span to the bridge to stop erosion of the riverbank.