San Fernando City, La Union—Clarifying reports that the Tulnagan Bridge construction in Pasuquin, Ilocos Norte has run out of funds leading to the delay of its completion for almost three years now, Fidel D. Ginez, Region I director of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) assured that the said infrastructure will be completed before the end of 2006. According to Ginez, the unavailability of a hydraulic jack in the province to be used for the construction has caused the delay in the completion of the bridge and not due to lack of funds. He reported that the DPWH regional office based in this city has a limited jack equipment which is being shared by the four provinces of the region, and which has also impeded the program of works of the regional DPWH-assisted projects. Unlike the other bridges that were constructed in Ilocos Norte’s second district, which started simultaneously with the Tulnagan Bridge, the former’s funding came from President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s Bridge Program under the Austrian government, with the two bridges built in Currimao and Badoc town under the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). Presently, Ginez said the contractor of the Tulnagan Bridge had temporarily stopped construction of its first phase because of the unavailability of a big jack that would be used for the construction. He explained that the said jack under the DPWH regional office is currently being used in Pangasinan for the construction of another bridge between Urdaneta and Manaoag towns, which is also Austrian-funded. “We already referred [this] to Manila but we were referred back to Region II. I hope we could borrow there,” Ginez said during a press conference attended by media persons from Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, Pangasinan and La Union. When asked about the funding requirement, Ginez said the bridge is fully funded as he also explained that during the bidding of the said project only 15 to 20 percent of the total costs were made available to the DPWH regional office and they had to wait for several months to a year for the full release of the bridge’s funding. “Either kasalanan na ng contractor o ng region kung di matatapos ‘yan within the end of the year,” Ginez stressed. Earlier, Pasuquin Mayor Oscar D. Aguinaldo expressed his disappointment on the slow progress of the bridge’s construction, which had inconvenienced travelers and residents residing the area. The delayed construction of the said bridge also irked coastal residents as passing vehicles, which had been detoured to them, had been emitting air pollutants affecting the locals’ health. Leilanie G. Adriano
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