Talomo Bridge (Photo from PSSCC Traffic Operations Center’s Facebook page)
DAVAO CITY, Philippines – The City Transportation and Traffic Management Office will be strictly implementing the cargo load limitation among trucks and vehicles passing through the Talomo Bridge II as the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) starts its rehabilitation project.
Starting on July 21, Saturday, all cargo vehicles with 15 tons gross weight and above will be redirected to the diversion road alternative route upon entering the city proper.
According to CTTMO Chief Dionisio Abude, the CTTMO prepared two traffic schemes for the said strengthening of the bridge yet the board opted to implement the utilization of the Puan-to-By-pass road route for efficiency purposes.
Dean Ortiz of the DPWH Region XI confirmed the necessity of the undertaking since upon their inspection, the bridge already had visible cracks, most probably caused by the passage of overloaded trucks.
“As of now the bridge is still safe, but what we are doing is a precautionary measure,” Ortiz stated in vernacular.
The 15 tons load weight limitation would mean that all 10-wheeler trucks, as well as other heavy-loaded six-wheeler trucks, would be prohibited from crossing the bridge.
Last month, the CTTMO conducted a dry-run for the rerouting under the circumstance of the bridge improvement. Notably, this caused massive standstills and traffic congestions.
The CTTMO, however, points out that the bridge is still passable for smaller vehicles as DPWH will merely reinforce it and the widening project will not start until all other road constructions in the area will be completed as per the recommendation of Abude in his report of the June dry-run.
20-second rule
Abude, in the same press conference also disclosed some developments in the office’s implementation of the 20-second loading and unloading rule amongst public utility vehicles.
Abude said the responses for implementation of the policy has been quite positive.
The CTTMO is now looking into ways to enforce the rule all over the city as for now, the CTTMO personnel are monitoring the rule’s effectivity in the areas of Magallanes, C.M. Recto and San Pedro.
The CTTMO Chief went on to say that since its implementation last month, 80 to 100 drivers have been given tickets for violating the said road policy. (davaotoday.com)
