The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) is fast-tracking the construction of two (2) projects to facilitate better and efficient transportation in the province of Tarlac.
DPWH Regional Office 3 Director Roseller A. Tolentino reported to DPWH Secretary Manuel M. Bonoan and Undersecretary Roberto R. Bernardo that the P305.91-million parallel bridge to the existing San Francisco Bridge and the P105.6-million Concepcion-Mabalacat Bypass Road are currently in the works under the implementation of the regional office’s Construction Division.
According to Director Tolentino, the widening of San Francisco Bridge along Concepcion-Capas Road is a multi-year project that started in 2019.
For the its initial funding, a total of P110.98 million was released for the construction of the parallel bridge substructure consisting of 14 bored piles and seven (7) coping beams, approach slabs, and the partial construction of six (6) steel girders with a 50-meter span length.
Director Tolentino bared that the implementation of the bridge widening project was temporarily halted in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The construction activities resumed in 2021 with an additional P146.68-million allocation from the national budget for the completion of the remaining 12 steel girders, partial completion of the first three-span continuous deck slab, and construction of slope protection at the bridge abutment “A”.
“For this year, P48.25 million was released for the completion of the second three-span continuous bridge deck slab and for the partial completion of the bridge wearing course with water-proofing as well as the construction of slope protection structures at the abutment “B” of the bridge,” Director Tolentino said.
Director Tolentino added that the bridge widening project has already posted 95.97 percent completion based on the total fund released as of September 2022.
Targeted for full completion in the latter part of the year 2022, about 15,000 vehicles traveling daily along the Concepcion-Capas Road are expected to benefit from the newly-upgraded San Francisco Bridge.
Meanwhile, the construction of a new bypass road providing an alternative connection between the provinces of Tarlac and Pampanga is also underway.
The Concepcion-Mabalacat Bypass Road project involves the excavation, embankment, and paving of 9.9 lineal kilometers of roads starting on the Tarlac side.
Since civil works started in June 2022, the project has recorded an accomplishment rate of 30.12 percent.
Director Tolentino said that faster travel time between the towns of Mabalacat, Pampanga and Concepcion, Tarlac is seen with the bypass road project completion, which is slated in March 2023.
