Gonzales seeks truck load limits on Eastern Samar roads

BORONGAN CITY — Eastern Samar Lone District Rep. Christopher Sheen Gonzales has asked the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to impose a load limit on trucks traversing key highways in the province amid reports of road deterioration in recent months.

Gonzales met with officials of the DPWH Eastern Samar District Engineering Office to assess the condition of vital infrastructure as part of his oversight functions.

He said prolonged rainfall in recent weeks, coupled with an increase in the number of heavy trucks passing through the province, has heightened the risk of accelerated road damage.

DPWH Eastern Samar District Engineer Jehela Roxas noted a surge in large truck traffic following the imposition of a 15-ton gross weight limit on Calbiga Bridge in Samar in October due to structural deterioration.

Roxas said enforcing a maximum vehicle weight limit in Eastern Samar would require coordination with the Department of Transportation and concerned local government units.

After the load restriction on Calbiga Bridge took effect, heavy trucks — including those transporting goods from Luzon to Mindanao — were advised to take alternative routes through Paranas–Taft, Taft–Borongan, Borongan–Buenavista and Buenavista–Lawaan to reach San Juanico Bridge. The rerouting adds at least six hours to travel time.

Gonzales said potholes have begun to appear along these stretches, worsened by recent heavy rainfall, raising the risk of road accidents.

The Paranas–Taft, Taft–Borongan, Borongan–Buenavista and Buenavista–Lawaan roads were constructed between 2010 and 2016 through the Millennium Challenge Corporation’s $434 million grant from the United States Congress.

The Secondary National Roads Development Project rehabilitated 175 kilometers of core roads and 59 bridges to climate-resilient standards, linking communities from Paranas in Samar to Guiuan in Eastern Samar.

The project aimed to lower transportation costs and stimulate economic growth in what has long been considered one of the country’s most disaster-prone and underdeveloped provinces.