Published On Feb 27, 2022
#sanjuanicobridge #bridgeoflove #longestbridgeinthephilippines
The San Juanico Bridge (Filipino: Tulay ng San Juanico; Waray: 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 viaduct built on reinforced concrete piers, and its main span is of an arch-shaped truss design. Constructed during the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos through Japanese Official Development Assistance loans, it has a total length of 2.16 kilometers (1.34 mi)—the longest bridge spanning a body of seawater in the Philippines.
Marcos built the bridge as a personal gift to his wife Imelda. It was one of the high-visibility foreign-loan projects initiated by Marcos during the run-up to the 1969 presidential election. Completed four years later, it was inaugurated on 2 July 1973 on the birthday of Imelda Marcos.