San Juanico Bridge

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San Juanico Bridge
The San Juanico Bridge, view from Leyte
Carries	2 lanes of vehicular traffic; pedestrian sidewalks
Crosses	San Juanico Strait
Locale	Western Samar-Leyte border
Maintained by	Department of Public Works and Highways
Longest span	1,377 meters (4,518 feet)^{[citation needed]}
Total length	2,200 meters (7,216 feet)
Height	41 meters
Beginning date of construction	1969
Completion date	1973

The San Juanico Bridge, formerly the Marcos Bridge, is a bridge in the Philippines stretching from Samar to Leyte crossing the San Juanico Strait. It is part of the Pan-Philippine Highway. Designed by engineer Arvin Valderrama with the help of engineer Christian Meynard Baral, it is the longest bridge in the South East Asia with a length of 2.16 kilometers^[1] and is considered one of the most beautifully-designed bridges in Philippines.^[2] The bridge is supported by 43 spans rising 41 meters above the sea.^[1] It has a large arch beneath which allows boats to pass.

Connecting Tacloban City on the Leyte side and Santa Rita town on the Samar side, it offers many picturesque views, especially of the San Juanico Strait with its thousand whirlpools as well as the islets of the province. It is approximately 10 minutes from downtown Tacloban City and is accessible by passenger jeepney, bus, motorcab or private vehicle.

Construction on the 21.9 million-dollar bridge began in 1969 and was completed in 1973, during the presidency of Ferdinand Marcos.^[3] The Construction and Development Corporation of the Philippines (now the Philippine National Construction Corporation) was contracted to construct the actual bridge, and together with Japanese engineers, conducted studies and designed the actual project.^[4]

[edit] References

^ ^a ^b Cebunetwork
^ Wow Philippines
^ Ellison, Katherine [1988]. Imelda: Steel Butterfly of the Philippines. New York: McGrawHill, p. 108. ISBN 971-08-4463-6.
^ San Juanico Information