MANANGA BRIDGE REPAIR

The southbound lane of the Mananga bridge that connects Talisay City and Minglanilla town in south Cebu will be closed to vehicular traffic starting late on Friday until midnight of Monday to allow the replacement of two of its expansion joints.

Engineer Leslie Anthony Molina, head of the Cebu 2nd engineering district, said the replacement is necessary to ensure the integrity of the 17-year-old structure.

Mananga bridge was built in the early part of year 2000. It will be the first time that the Department of Public Works and Highways in Central Visayas (DPWH-7) will be doing repair works on the bridge.

“Sa 2018 ang north bound lane na sad atong ayuhon kay ug atong dunganon traffic kaayo (In 2018, we will be working on the bridge’s north-bound lane because if we do both lanes at the same time, it will surely result to heavy traffic),” Molina said in a talk with Cebu Daily News.

Molina sent out advisories on Wednesday asking Cebu media organizations to help disseminate information on the Mananga bridge repair project to prevent any delay and inconvenience which might occur during its implementation.

The project, estimated to cost around P4 million, has been awarded to PLD Construction.

The Mananga bridge closure will take effect a week after PLD Construction also finished the repair of the expansion joints of the Tabunok flyover last June 16, six days ahead of its original June 22 schedule.

Molina said the closure of the three south-bound lanes on Mananga bridge will start at 10 p.m., Friday, as they anticipate that south-bound travelers may have already reached their destinations by then.

Molina said the bridge closure is expected to have minimal effect on south Cebu traffic because of the long weekend that will include the Eid’l Fitr or the Feast of Ramadan.

During the closure of the south-bound lanes, traffic will be diverted to the bridge’s three north-bound lanes.

South-bound travelers will be directed to the inner most lane while the two outer lanes will be assigned to north-bound travelers.

Demarcation lines and detour signs will be installed by DPWH in the area beginning Friday morning.

The actual work which will include the removal of old cement and the replacement of the expansion joints will start at 10 p.m. on Friday and is expected to be completed Saturday morning.

Curing of the replacement cement is expected to follow from Saturday afternoon until midnight of Monday.