Surigao gets first earthquake-resistant bridge

The bridge will utilize corrugated steel plates as primary material for the support structure, which will make it able to withstand earthquakes.

The country’s first ever earthquake-resistant bridge will soon rise in Surigao del Norte, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) announced on Monday.

According to the DPWH, the said bridge will be constructed as a replacement to the Anao-aon Bridge in San Francisco, Surigao del Norte, which collapsed after it was hit by a 6.7 magnitude earthquake back in 2017.

Featuring a world-renowned design employing an advanced and modern technology, it will utilize corrugated steel plates (CSP) as primary material for the support structure, which will make the new bridge able to withstand earthquakes.

The primary CSP material is already being developed into a regular pay item of the department under Department Order 40 series of 2018, as the DPWH said that the capability of CSP has been proven and tested, passing DPWH standards in line with continuing efforts to upgrade construction technology through the adoption of innovative methods.

“(CSP) will soon be utilized in most of the department’s infrastructure projects for highways, bridges and airports,” said the DPWH, which also said that they are also eyeing its feasibility for tunnel structures.

While concrete bridges are only expected to last 40 to 50 years, bridges built with CSP are expected to last longer for about 70 years.

“In case of deterioration, the affected portion can be effortlessly replaced with new CSP material to restore the integrity of the structure. On top of that, the flexibility and lightweight characteristic of steel makes it earthquake-resistant compared to concrete structures,” it added.

In April 2018, DPWH commenced the construction of the first phase of the new bridge, which includes the construction of the foundation and procurement of CSP materials.

As of 31 August 2019, the bridge is almost complete with 85.51 percent actual accomplishment having a total cost of Php 179,919,988.36 million.

DPWH said it has already requested augmentation, estimating up to more than P75 million by next year’s infrastructure program to ultimately complete the bridge with the remaining works for the installation of CSP, backfill and concrete slab as carriageway.