On April 27 this year, four persons died including an Austrian tourist, and at least 20 others were injured, when the Clarin Bridge in Loay, Bohol collapsed. Trucks, motorcycles and tricycles tumbled into the Loboc River as the bridge crumpled.
Earlier this month, another bridge collapsed, this time in Bayambang, Pangasinan. Authorities blamed the collapse of Carlos P. Romulo Bridge, formerly the Wawa Bridge, to overloading. Built in 1945, the bridge could accommodate only up to 20 tons. Probers said it buckled under the weight of a passing dump truck carrying sand with a gross weight of 63.3 tons and an Isuzu Elf truck transporting fertilizer weighing six tons. Both trucks fell 30 feet down.
In the case of the Clarin Bridge, it had suffered damage when a magnitude-7.2 earthquake struck Bohol in 2013, which also destroyed or damaged heritage churches in the province. Built in the 1970s, the bridge in Poblacion Ubos was reinforced after the earthquake, but obviously it was not enough to make the bridge withstand regular vehicular traffic.
Even pedestrian bridges need reinforcement. Last June, a hanging bridge in Laua-an town in Antique gave way, leaving three persons injured. The concrete post toppled and the cable wire was severed as several persons were crossing the bridge.
The country has many other decades-old bridges. With regular wear and tear plus the earthquakes and torrential flooding that regularly hit the country, many of the bridges surely need periodic structural inspection and reinforcement. This was done for several bridges spanning the Pasig River in Metro Manila.
Regular checks, reinforcement and general upgrading of bridges not only promote safe transportation but are also more cost-effective, saving weakened bridges from collapse.
The inspections and upgrading must be complemented by efforts to promote observance of weight limits per bridge. The limits are prominently displayed at both ends of every bridge used by vehicles; local authorities must ensure that the signage is there and is clearly visible.
At the same time, logistics firms and other operators of road transport used for hauling goods must do their part, seeing to it that their vehicles and cargo do not go beyond weight limits. Land transportation authorities prescribe gross weight limits per truck, with vehicles inspected for compliance.
Inspection and weighing spots do not cover all areas. Still, even without government monitoring, it is in the interest of everyone – truckers, their clients, drivers and other personnel – to comply with weight limits per vehicle and on bridges. Those limits are there to protect not only the bridge but lives and property.