By ONAD MUNALEM
Talibon Mayor Juanario Item reportedly got irked upon learning recently that the San Agustin-Zamora Bridge has collapsed to the riverbed beneath after a ten-wheel dump truck carrying gravel attempted to pass through.
Right after receiving a call informing him of the incident on Tuesday noon last week, Item immediately sent an investigating team barangay Zamora to check it.
The mayor also requested a police team to conduct a separate investigation.
Zamora Barangay Captain Prima Tautjo said it’s the second time that the bridge had collapsed, causing inconvenient to farmers in bringing their produce to the market as it is the only shortest and most direct route to the Poblacion area.
The bridge was connecting the Poblacion area and two more barangays other than Zamora.
Municipal Engineer Nito Flores rushed to the site for an ocular inspection and assess the damage.
Flores’ team saw the bridge totally wrecked and a ten-wheeler dump truck plunged in the river below with the rubbles.
Flores interviewed the village chief and barriofolks nearby, while the municipal information officer took photos for documentation.
Tautjo explained that she strongly prohibited heavy vehicles to cross the bridge, while finishing touches on the bridge was still going on.
In fact, the Department of Public Works and Highway (DPWH) has assigned an employee to watch it to ensure that no heavy trucks could pass through, the village head said.
She added that she only allowed light vehicles like motorcycles.
However, while the construction workers were having their lunch break, they heard a noise that sounded like something heavy splashing onto the river coming from the construction site.
The workers and the residents nearby rushed to the site and realized it was a ten-wheel dump truck loaded with gravel that tried to cross the bridge, but ended up plunging on the river below after the bridge collapsed.
Tautjo further expressed lament on the incident as their barangay would be celebrating fiesta in January and the bridge served as the shortest and the safest route to the commercial area of the town.
The municipal engineer’s team learned that the dump truck was hired by the barangay to deliver four truckloads of gravel and it was owned by the Sarmiento Construction, the company that constructed the Zamora Dam.
The truck driver and his helpers were immediately rushed to the hospital for immediate treatment of the slight injuries they sustained. - source: Sunday Post
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