San Juanico Bridge near completion, ready by 2026 — Marcos

MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Friday, December 12, said that the government hoped to have the San Juanico Bridge fully functional by 2026. 

The major bridge, which connects Leyte and Samar, has been undergoing maintenance repairs after structural concerns were raised. While the bridge is not completely closed, only light vehicles have been allowed to pass. 

The president inspected the bridge, which has partially reopened to two-way traffic. 

“But I'm very happy that I'm able to say now, it is very close to our deadline. And so, the San Juanico Bridge is partially, partially finished. It will be finished next year,” Marcos said. 

The bridge is now open two-way with a 15-ton load limit—less than half of the 33-ton limit both ways. 

Marcos lamented that the bridge had been neglected for so long, saying that if the bridge had been properly maintained, retrofitting would not have been needed. 

“I hope that this serves as a lesson to all future administrators in government, of all government workers who have anything to do with this. The retrofit costs us P1.1 billion. That is money that we could have saved if proper maintenance was carried out on San Juanico,” Marcos said. 

If the proper maintenance and inspection had been done every three years, the government could have saved that money, he said. 

Marcos acknowledged that the commerce in the region was also impacted, with the flow of food supplies, raw materials and other goods being disrupted.