Just when things were starting to look up for Davao, the bridge falls. Literally. Gov. Generoso Bridge (more popularly known as Bankerohan Bridge), after serving Davao for decades, cracked under the weight of the city’s steadily increasing vehicular traffic. But, isn’t it supposed to be good for a few more decades?
My hat’s off to the various local government agencies that responded quickly to this crisis. The damage happened right before the morning rush hour, but I think the traffic police were able to handle the situation fairly competently. Some commuters from Matina reported that it took them more than an hour to get to work — compared to the usual 15-20 minutes. (I can just hear my Manila friends scoffing at this.) Last night when I crossed Gov. Generoso II, the City Engineer’s equipment and personnel were already camped out at the scene. It seems that they have everything in place to ensure that the bridge gets fixed pronto. (I’m sure they are already contemplating the start of school less than two months hence.)
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Response time was laudable, I suppose. This gives me confidence in the local government’s ability to respond to crises. But then again, wouldn’t it be wiser to go beyond merely reacting? What I’m trying to drive at is this: Couldn’t we have anticipated this? Shouldn’t we have been more aware of the health or overall condition of our city’s infrastructure? I don’t know if I’m just watching too much of National Geographic’s Megastructures, but I often hear about bridges as having expected lifespans. So, doesn’t that mean that engineers are supposed to more or less know the period of serviceability of structures? This begs the question, Why did Bankerohan Bridge nearly collapse when it did?
And what of Gov. Generoso II? I remember it also had a problem, right after it was built maybe a decade ago. I recall its ramp on the downtown side sustained damage only a short while after its inauguration. Again, the city’s response time was impressive even then. But couldn’t the damage have been avoided in the first place?
For news coverage, especially regarding the planned new bridge, read Sun·Star’s article. Below is a short video I took today.
Cool coverage, Blogie. Thanks. Will probably visit this tomorrow. (Actually saw it tonight on the way to MTS….)
Thanks Dom! Feeling like a beat reporter nga ako that time eh
is this the old bridge or the newer one? di ba parang 2 naman ito? one for each way. I still recall the time that my friends and I nung grade school kami dared to walk the Bankerohan Bridge (circa late 80s) from AdDU to Bankerohan. all for fun lang.. hehe. katakot pala.
It’s the older bridge whose foundations collapsed, maya. Accdg to the Sun.Star article, it was built in 1947.
I crossed Bankerohan Bridge (the newer one though) on foot for the first time when I took those pics & video for this post. Not really scary — what’s scary is when you try to jump off of it to dive into the river, like the kids do!
hope matapos na tohhh!