TACLOBAN CITY — Problems surrounding the once-viral Biliran Bridge are far from over.

While repairs have allowed the bridge to reopen to vehicles weighing up to 15 tons, the Biliran business community is now raising concerns over the poor condition of the alternate route used by heavier cargo trucks.

The Biliran Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) said the docking ports and access roads leading to the Landing Craft Tanks (LCTs) used to ferry heavy vehicles are in disrepair.

According to the group, docking ports on both the Leyte and Biliran sides, as well as their connecting access roads, are “insufficient, unsafe, and ill-equipped to handle regular cargo traffic.”

“These deficiencies pose risks to public safety, damage vehicles and goods, slow down logistics, and increase operational costs that are ultimately passed on to consumers,” the BCCI said in a statement released Tuesday.

The docking ports and roads were opened in January 2025 as an alternate route after the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) imposed a five-ton load limit following a viral video in December 2024 showing the Biliran Bridge swaying even without passing vehicles.

Constructed in 1976, the bridge remains the only land transportation link between Biliran province and the Leyte mainland, and by extension, the rest of the country.

On 25 February DPWH launched a P30-million rehabilitation project that included the replacement of corroded bolts, damaged steel members and plates, and the installation of new finger-type expansion joints and other essential components to restore the bridge’s structural integrity.

The rehabilitation was completed in July last year, after which the bridge was reopened to vehicles weighing up to 15 tons following a load rating capacity assessment conducted by the Bureau of Design of the DPWH Central Office.

Vehicles exceeding the 15-ton limit continue to be transported via LCT ferry boats operating on fixed schedules.

BCCI said the “marginal increase” in load capacity means LCT operations will remain necessary in the near to medium term. However, it stressed that the lack of corresponding investment in the alternate route’s infrastructure is impractical and economically unsustainable.

The group urged the national government to strengthen the alternate route and called on the DPWH to prioritize upgrades and standardization of docking facilities, road access, and safety features on both ends of the barging corridor.

“These improvements are no longer temporary measures; they are essential economic infrastructure,” the BCCI said.

Meanwhile, Biliran Lone District Rep. Gerardo Espina Jr. said funding for improvements on both sides of the route has already been requested from the DPWH central office.

Espina noted that the funding was not included in the recently signed 2026 General Appropriations Act due to the late submission of the request by the DPWH district office.