Bridge connecting Dagupan to Binmaley to be rebuilt after 90 years
DAGUPAN, Philippines – After almost 90 years, mainland Dagupan City will be connected once again to its island barangays. On Friday, December 20, the new bridge project broke ground, with Pangasinan 4th District Representative Christopher de Venecia leading the rites.
The new Calmay bridge will connect downtown Dagupan to adjacent Binmaley town through Barangay Calmay, and go all the way to southern Lingayen. Worth P1.8375 billion, it is expected to be completed in 2026.
“The new Calmay bridge will increase commercial activities in two island barangays: Calmay and Carael, and contribute more to the overall economic growth of Dagupan City,” De Venecia said.
The groundbreaking ceremony was also attended by Dagupan City Mayor Belen Fernandez, former congresswoman Gina de Venecia, and officials from the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).
The new Calmay Bridge, will be part of the Dagupan-Mangaldan Circumferential Road that is already under construction, according to the DPWH.
DPWH Regional Director Ronnel Tan said the Lingayen-Dagupan Road via Binmaley through the Jose de Venecia Expressway is scheduled to be completed soon.
The bridge, a project of the DPWH, will unclog heavy traffic along the Pangasinan-Zambales Road between Dagupan and Binmaley.
Mayor Fernandez praised the project because the road access from the mainland to Barangays Carael and Calmay can serve as new frontier for development since the downtown area of Dagupan is already congested.
Reconnected
The soon-to-be-built bridge is the spiritual successor of the renowned Franklin Bridge, a 12-kilometer road linking Dagupan to Lingayen which was built during the American colonial period as part of the “Golden Road.” It is made of thick foundations of rock quarried from San Isidro Labrador (now called Labrador town), which could withstand hard rains due to its arched surface.
In her book Pangasinan 1901-1986: A Political, Socioeconomic and Cultural History, historian Rosario Mendoza-Cortes wrote that the bridge was constructed in the 1920’s using a loan of P150,000 from the insular government.
Featuring a steel drawbridge, the Franklin Bridge was a sight to behold, specially with the magnificent Colegio de San Alberto de Magno standing on the riverbank of Barangay Calmay.
However, tragedy struck in 1935, when a great flood swept the bridge and collapsed the riverbank, including the renowned college with it.
Only the eastern portion of the bridge in the mainland area survived.
In early 2000, the remnants of said bridge was threatened due to the construction of the Pantal-Dawel-Lucao Diversion Road. Officials of the city at the time, along with the DPWH, managed to save the bridge from demolition by the contractor Tokyo Construction.
In 2010, then-mayor Alipio Fernandez Jr. ordered the erection of a marker honoring the Franklin Bridge’s role in Dagupan City’s history.
Mayor Belen Fernandez, upon assumption of the mayoralty seat in 2013, has since planned for the reconstruction of the bridge and revitalization of the area, but plans were stalled.
Congressman De Venecia’s partnership with Fernandez, however, has gone for the better, as both were able to agree to consummate the plans, leading to the approval of funding for the construction of the new Calmay Bridge. – Rappler.com