ANGELES CITY, Pampanga – Traveling along Angeles City and nearby towns would be much faster and easier starting Tuesday, with the opening of the newly-widened Friendship Bridge along the Friendship Circumferential Road West here.
The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) opened the newly-widened and more secure Friendship Bridge located in Barangay Anunas, Angeles City immediately after a two-week waterproof curing of the concrete pavement.
Public Works Secretary Mark Villar led the ceremonial drive-through and inauguration rites to mark the official opening of the bridge constructed under the government’s “Build, Build, Build” program.
Villar said the widening of the Friendship Bridge is vital to better accommodate commuters and motorists doing business in the bustling cities of San Fernando and Angeles City, including the Clark Freeport Zone, and Porac town.
“The new Friendship Bridge is the solution (to the) bottleneck traffic situation caused by the existing bridge in as much as the load section before and after the bridge had been widened,” he said.
DPWH 3 (Central Luzon) Director Roseller Tolentino, meanwhile, said the project included the construction of an additional two lanes and road widening, as well as maintenance work, such as repainting with anti-corrosion paint all metal structures, and repair of cracks on the Friendship Bridge.
“We constructed (a) new bridge and approach with a total net length of 618 meters, and an additional bridge with a length of 240.8 linear meters, two lanes RCDG on Bored Pile foundation and approaches,” Tolentino said.
He added that the bridge also has provision for concrete slope protection for approaches and abutments and safety devices, such as concrete railings, hazard markers (chevron signs) and pavement markings. (PR)
