DAVAO CITY (PIA) — The Bolton Bridge II in Davao City is safe for motorists, said Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) XI spokesperson Dean Ortiz.
After the strong earthquake, which struck Davao City on December 2, the southbound lane of Bolton Bridge or the Bolton Bridge I was temporarily closed to motorists as the DPWH assessed the damage.
Ortiz, however, said that the damaged part of the bridge were its expansion joints and which he assured the public not to worry as it is not part of the main bridge structure.
“Actually wala tay dapat ikaworrry kay tong nadamage didto sa Bolton bridge are only katong ginatawag na expansion joints. Ang atong expansion joints nahimutang sa duha ka abutments or approaches sa tulay (We don’t have to worry because the damage in the Bolton Bridge is what we call the expansion joints the expansion joints are located in the two abutments or approaches of the bridge),” he said.
The function of the expansion joints is to allow concrete to naturally expand or contract without damaging the bridge structure.
“Mao to cya ang mag absorb kung dunay may pwersa so that case nagwork atong expansion joint so nadamage lang aspalto na gibutang nato (They absorb if there is pressure in that case the expansion joint worked, what was damaged was the asphalt we put in there),” Ortiz said.
“We can assure everyone na 100% safe agihan ang Bolton Bridge (Bolton Bridge is 100% passable),” Ortiz said.
The DPWH-XI spokesperson bared that next year the Bolton Bridge I and II (southbound and northbound) will undergo retrofitting.
Meanwhile, Ortiz said that based on monitoring by the DPWH maintenance teams after the earthquake, there were no significant damages in the region’s roads and bridges. (JBG/RGA/PIA Davao)
