CLARK FREEPORT– It will not yet be as good as new, but the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEx) will be passable in its entirety starting 2 p.m. today, Tuesday, initially for light vehicles.
The state-owned Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) said it’s all systems go for the opening of the 49-meter Bailey bridge as temporary measure at the Porac, Pampanga section of SCTEx where the abutment of a concrete bridge was eroded into the Pasig-Potrero River during the recent monsoon rains.
BCDA President-CEO Arnel Paciano Casanova said the Bailey bridge will be open to traffic starting at 2 p.m.
“We recognize the vital role of the SCTEx in the socio-economic growth and development of Central Luzon being the main artery in the delivery of goods and services in the region. That is why the BCDA made sure that the closed segment of the toll road be open to traffic at the least possible time without compromising the safety of the motorists,” Casanova said.
But BCDA manager for SCTEx services Engineer Joshua Bingcang said the Bailey bridge will be open only to Class 1 or light vehicles. “After stabilization of the support base of the Bailey bridge, it will be open to Class 2 and Class 3 vehicles in the next two weeks. We are doing this to ensure the safety of the motorists,” Bingcang said.
“In the meantime, Class 2 and Class 3 vehicles coming from Manila or Tarlac going to Subic/ Tipo, are advised to exit at the Clark South Interchange then take the Clark Friendship-Manibaug Road going to Porac Interchange (to enter SCTEx),” he said.
Bingcang said “Class 2 and Class 3 vehicles from Subic/Tipo going to Tarlac or Manila may exit at Porac Interchange then take the Manibaug-Friendship Road going to Clark South Interchange (to enter SCTEx).”
The Bailey bridge has a maximum capacity of 25 tons that can accommodate up to Class 3 vehicles.
Construction of the 49-meter long Bailey bridge was done by the Department of Public Works and Highways and the BCDA in a span of nine days, Bingcang noted.
Last August 19, strong river currents pushed by the heavy downpour during the height of Typhoon Maring set off a massive erosion of up to 10 hectares of land at the bank of the Pasig-Potrero River, eventually also eroding the southern approach to the bridge in Porac.
