Buntun Bridge ( itv, Talletay ta Buntun; ilo, Rangtáy ti Buntun; fil, Tulay ng Buntun) is a river bridge that stretches from

Tuguegarao City Tuguegarao ( or ), officially the City of Tuguegarao ( ibg, Siyudad nat Tugegaraw; itv, Siyudad yo Tugegaraw; ilo, Siudad ti Tuguegarao; fil, Lungsod ng Tuguegarao ), is a 3rd class component city and capital of the province of Cagayan, Phili ...

to Solana in

Cagayan Cagayan ( ), officially the Province of Cagayan ( ilo, Probinsia ti Cagayan; ibg, Provinsiya na Cagayan; itv, Provinsiya ya Cagayan; fil, Lalawigan ng Cagayan), is a province in the Philippines located in the Cagayan Valley region, covering ...

and spans the

Cagayan River The Cagayan River, also known as the Río Grande de Cagayán, is the longest river and the largest river by discharge volume of water in the Philippines. It has a total length of approximately and a drainage basin covering . It is located in t ...

, the largest river basin in the Philippines. It forms part of the Santiago-Tuguegarao Road (designated as N51 by the

Department of Public Works and Highways The Department of Public Works and Highways ( fil, Kagawaran ng mga Pagawain at Lansangang Bayan}), abbreviated as DPWH, is the executive department of the Philippine government solely vested with the Mandate to “be the State's engineering ...

highway routing system), a major junction of the

Pan-Philippine Highway The Pan-Philippine Highway, also known as the Maharlika Highway ( tl, Daang Maharlika; ceb, Dalang Halangdon), is a network of roads, expressways, bridges, and ferry services that connect the islands of Luzon, Samar, Leyte, and Mindanao in t ...

. It was the longest bridge in the Philippines upon its opening in 1969, surpassed in 1973 by the

San Juanico Bridge The San Juanico Bridge ( fil, Tulay ng San Juanico; war, Tulay han San Juanico) is part of the Pan-Philippine Highway and stretches from Samar to Leyte across the San Juanico Strait in the Philippines. Its longest length is a steel girder via ...

. A popular belief is that the bridge is long enough for a person to recite the entire

Philippine National Anthem "" ("Chosen Land"), originally titled in Spanish as "" ("Philippine National March"), and commonly and informally known by its incipit "" ("Beloved Country"), is the national anthem of the Philippines. Its music was composed in 1898 by Julián ...

while traversing.

History

In 1959,

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

Carlos P. Garcia Carlos Polestico Garcia (November 4, 1896 – June 14, 1971) was a Filipino teacher, poet, orator, lawyer, public official, political economist, guerrilla and Commonwealth military leader who was the eighth president of the Philippines. A l ...

released to start the construction of the bridge. The meager amount was augmented in several appropriations embodied in different Republic Acts through the initiative of Cagayan's 2nd District Congressman Benjamin Ligot. The ground-breaking ceremony on December 11, 1960 was attended by President Garcia.

Construction

The construction was based from the original plan of ten steel through truss spans and one

I-beam An I-beam, also known as H-beam (for universal column, UC), w-beam (for "wide flange"), universal beam (UB), rolled steel joist (RSJ), or double-T (especially in Polish, Bulgarian, Spanish, Italian and German), is a beam with an or -shape ...

approach on each end. With the initial , Angeleo Alonzo, the first District Engineer of Department of Public Works, Transportation and Communications 2nd Cagayan Engineering District, completed Abutment A. Pier I, footing and pedestal of Pier II. In 1962, however, Diosdado Macapagal took over as President and no one knew whether or not he would continue the project. Congressman Ligot convinced the President to continue the project under one AGUID Construction Company. The frequent floods have widened the river channel and caused the change of plan for the bridge to 14 Japanese steel through truss spans and one

approach on the Solana side. President Ferdinand Marcos ordered Public Works, Transportation and Communications Secretary

Antonio Raquiza Antonio Valentin Raquiza (February 29, 1908 – December 24, 1999) was a Filipino politician and lawyer. He was from Piddig, Ilocos Norte. Political career Raquiza served as representative of the 1st District of Ilocos Norte in the Philippine ...

to assign the bureau’s construction team led by Engineer Rogelio Talastas to Buntun Bridge. The team, under Alonzo's general supervision, went to work in full swing in May 1968. By May 10 the following year, the bridge was practically completed. However, the construction team was transferred to another project, leaving Alonzo to complete the painting of the landmark structure and the construction of the grouted riprap and the road approaches. First Lady

Imelda Marcos Imelda Romualdez Marcos (; born Imelda Remedios Visitacion Trinidad Romualdez; July 2, 1929) is a Filipino politician who served as the First Lady of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986, wielding significant political power during the dictato ...

opened the bridge to vehicular traffic on June 1, 1969, which took three administrations to build.

Features

Buntun Bridge serves as the gateway to the

's provincial capital, Tuguegarao City and links to the second and third district municipalities of Cagayan and

Apayao Apayao, officially the Province of Apayao ( ilo, Probinsia ti Apayao; fil, Lalawigan ng Apayao), is a landlocked province in the Philippines in the Cordillera Administrative Region in Luzon. Kabugao serves as its capital. The provincial capit ...

. The road infrastructure measures , considered the longest river bridge in the Philippines. It has 14 Japanese steel spans. The bridge offers an unobstructed, picturesque view of the Cagayan River, the widest and longest river in the country.

Notes

References

External links