The third bridge which will connect Tagbilaran City and the island of Panglao, where Bohol’s new international airport is set to be completed in 2018, will be named “Iconic Bridge.”
According to Governor Edgar Chatto, the name was derived from the planned unique design of the bridge which will be different from the currently established links connecting Bohol’s capital city and the resort island.
“This bridge will have a touristic value and will have a unique design,” said Chatto in Cebuano. “This is a rare design which will use cables so that there will only be one pair of posts so water can move freely beneath.”
The current bridges connecting Tagbilaran City and Panglao are just raised paths or causeways which partly block water in the channel from flowing.
“Since it’s a causeway, water underneath cannot move freely, and this is among contributing factors to red tide accumulation according to the BFAR [Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resource] and environmental people,” he said.
According to Chatto, the new bridge will be a four-lane structure and its completion would prompt a reconfiguration of the traffic flow in key areas in Tagbilaran City.
The two current Tagbilaran-Panglao bridges only have two lanes which, at times, get congested.
“To pave way to the free flow of traffic, they plan to implement one-way circular traffic, and behind Cathedral, they will correct the slope there,” he said.
Earlier this year, government and private engineers including personnel from the Department of Public Works and Highways started to conduct a feasibility study on the project.
Around P25 million was allotted for the structure’s feasibility study, said Chatto. (Allen Doydora)