GLOWING. The San Juanico Bridge Lights and Sounds Show. The bridge has stopped glowing in the dark with the lighting system still under maintenance and repairs, Samar’s provincial government announced on Friday (Feb. 10, 2023). (Photo courtesy of Spark Samar photo)
TACLOBAN CITY – San Juanico Bridge has stopped glowing in the dark, at least for now, with the lighting system still under maintenance and repairs, Samar’s provincial government announced on Friday.
The local government said on its Facebook account that an electrical breakdown at the San Juanico Bridge has affected the scheduled nightly aesthetic lights show.
“The incessant rainfall caused by the adverse weather is preventing the maintenance team from doing immediate repairs,” the statement said.
To avoid further damage to this kind of unforeseeable circumstance, the provincial government decided to “momentarily turn the light show off until further notice” starting Thursday night.
The local government assured the public that operations would resume once the necessary repairs are completed.
On Oct. 20, 2022, President Ferdinand R. Marcos formally switched on the San Juanico Bridge Lights and Sounds Show. Since then, there have been nightly light shows.
On Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, the bridge has a static light show from 6 p.m. to midnight. And between 7 p.m. and 10 p.m., the bridge features four 15-minute light shows.
From Mondays to Thursdays, when visitors are considerably fewer, static light still illuminates the structure but only for a shorter period from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m.
The 2.16-km. San Juanico Bridge stretches from Samar to Leyte Island and is the longest bridge along the Pan-Philippine Highway that connects Luzon and Mindanao.
Built in August 1969 and completed in 1972, the bridge has stood the test of calamity, hurdling Super Typhoon Yolanda that ravaged Eastern Visayas on Nov. 8, 2013. (PNA)
