SUBIC BAY FREEPORT — The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) yesterday inaugurated and opened the P44-million new Upper Binictican Bridge at the Binictican Area of this premier Freeport.

According to SBMA Chairman and Administrator Eduardo Jose L. Aliño, the new Upper Binictican Bridge replaces the old Upper Binictican Bridge that was built in the 1960s by the Americans when this Freeport was still a US Naval Base.

Aliño said that the old bridge has served this Freeport for more than 60 years now and should be replaced since the bridge connects the residential area of Binictican to the rest of the Subic Bay Freeport Zone.

He added that the SBMA Engineering Department and maintenance management company A. C. Ong conducted a structural investigation, citing that the old bridge was in an advanced stage of deterioration due to long-term structural damage.

The SBMA and the DPWH entered into a memorandum of agreement for the construction of a new bridge that will replace the old bridge.

The SBMA’s Office of the Deputy Administrator for Public Works and Technical Support Group led the construction of the new bridge, which was designed and supervised by the DPWH Bataan 1st District Engineering Office.

PWTSG Deputy Administrator Marco Estabillo said that the construction started on 8 May 2024, and was targeted to be completed by 15 May 2025.

Estabillo said that the new bridge design is a reinforced concrete deck girder bridge with a single span and two lanes. The bridge, he added, will be supported by reinforced concrete abutments and mat/spread foundation due to rocky/boulder nature of the earth.