The San Juanico Bridge
It’s classic – you get used to its presence, you forget about its uniqueness. The San Juanico Bridge is there all the time, one loses sight of its being. Too close to the trees to see the forest. Let me sit you back for a better perspective…
The San Juanico Bridge, the longest bridge in the Philippines with a length of 2.16 kilometers and considered one of the most beautifully-designed bridges, is an S-shaped bridge connecting the islands of Samar and Leyte across the San Juanico Strait – the longest strait in the world. It is part of the Maharlika Highway which traverses from Luzon to Mindanao.
The bridge designed by one of the famous Filipino engineers, Arvin Valderrama, is supported by 43 spans rising 41 meters above the sea. It has a large arch beneath which allows boats to pass.
Connecting Tacloban City on the Leyte side (background) and Santa Rita town on the Samar side (foreground in photo above), it offers many picturesque views, especially of the San Juanico Strait with its thousand whirlpools and tropical islets. It is approximately 20 minutes from downtown Tacloban City.
Construction on the 21.9 million-dollar bridge began in 1969 and was completed in 1973. The Construction and Development Corporation of the Philippines (now the Philippine National Construction Corporation) was contracted to construct the bridge, and together with Japanese engineers, conducted studies and designed the project.
Updated Oct. 28, 2009: View more photos at http://gerryruiz.callezaragosa.com/p325385869
- For a 360-degree panoramic view of the bridge and other Philippine sites, visit: http://virtual-museum.com/phil-panos/juanico-pano.html
- Source: Wikipedia
What a very very cool bridge.
It’s an architectural and engineering marvel and it’s found in Leyte and Samar! Hey, that sounds like good material for a quiz show!
great blog. it’s nice to meet you sir. it seems that we’re the only waray bloggers here on wordpress…
wow its cool. I love Philippines. i’ve never seen a bridge like this in my entire life. I love it.
The best and bridge in the whole Philippines.
MABUHAY!
How can I forget this bridge? We used to live before in Tacloban City during my younger days back in 1972. When we’d try to go out of the house, my parents used to say this: “Hala! Paglakat kamo kay puroton ngani kamo hit tawo nga nangu-nguha hin bata para ig hulog ha San Juanico!” Waray ko na ito kalimti ngada yana nga 40 yrs old na ako. Ambot kun nasabot kamo hini nga istorya hadto? Para daw tumibay an mga poste! LOL
SABI ng friend namin totoo daw yan pero I still doubt it. wala silang puso kung tao ang ihuhulog nila. pero alam ko rin na may taong nahulog dyan sa isang poste, aksidente lang na na-out-balance siya papasok sa binubuhusang poste, pangatlo o pang-apat na poste mula sa abatment sa may samar side minaagusan ito ng puting likido mula noon. bat alam ko? dyan kami nakatira noon, ang lugar na yan ay sitio candaya. lacaba ang aming apelyedo. kumusta na sa nga kababata ko at relatives dyan?
hi ako gihap nabatian ko na iton nga estorya about sa nangunguha hira hintawo para ihulog or ialay hit kataw na nakaukoy ha ilurom hit tubig, asya gihapon ito an ginsisiring hit amon nanay kon nagawas kami hit amon balay..pero doubt pa rin ako kc syempre hindi ko pa naman nakita in person, pero yaw ko naman ding makita ng personal takot ko lang..
hehehe, same here… same story told by my parents whenever i attempted to go out of house… am happy to know that there are those who make an effort to tell the world about the beauty of our place… the place of the warays… maiiisog daw kuno… hadlok la hira hit mga waray…
woooh!!!, how nice the view!!!!
amazing set of photos!
according to my instructor, there’s a story behind San Juanico Bridge and we should find it out! Please do share more stories about it. Thanks.=)
excellent photos! are the first 2 photos aerial shots? i’m visiting tacloban on oct 31. i too want to photograph san juanico bridge from a different perspective. (i just finished attending advanced photography workshop at fppf. my gears are still basic. i’ll see what i can come up with.hehehe). would love to hear tips from you on capturing the bridge. thanks!
Yes, the top 2 photos are aerial shots taken from a chopper. The third one was taken from aboard a motorized banca.
..hahha totoo talaga yung story even me knows that….
….so visit san juanico bridge for you to be able to know the reality behind it….
]
..goooo.
I still remember visiting San Juanico Bridge for the first time in 1973! Just imagine how people used to travel between Samar and Tacloban before it was built….I think it used to take more than five hours by motor boat from Catbalogan. If you used the bus, you would have to ride a barge at some point. The convenience provided by that bridge certainly improved things!