Subic Bay Freeport – The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) has inaugurated and opened the ₱44-million new Upper Binictican Bridge at the Binictican Area of this premier Freeport on May 15, 2025.
SBMA Chairman and Administrator Eduardo Jose L. Aliño said that the new Upper Binictican Bridge replaced the old structure that was built by the Americans in the 1960s when this Freeport was still a US Naval Base.
Aliño added that the old bridge has already served motorists in this Freeport for more than 60 years now and should be replaced since it connects the residential area of Binictican to the rest of the Subic Bay Freeport Zone.
He further said that the SBMA Engineering Department and maintenance management company A. C. Ong conducted a structural investigation that revealed the old bridge was already in the advanced stage of deterioration due to long-term structural damage.
A few years back, the SBMA and the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) entered into a memorandum of agreement (MOA) for the construction of a new bridge that will replace the old one.
The SBMA’s Office of the Deputy Administrator (ODA) for Public Works and Technical Services Group (PWTSG) led the construction of the new bridge that was designed and supervised by the DPWH Bataan 1st District Engineering Office (DEO).
PWTSG Deputy Administrator Engr. Marco Estabillo said that the construction commenced on May 8, 2024, and was foreseen to be completed by May 15, 2025.
Estabillo further said that the new bridge design is a reinforced concrete deck girder (RCDG) bridge with a single span and two lanes. The bridge, meanwhile, will be supported by reinforced concrete abutments and a mat/ spread foundation due to the rocky/ boulder nature of the earth.
The old bridge measured 17.30m in length, 7.30m in width with no sidewalks. Meanwhile, the new bridge, Estabillo added, is 22.80m in length, 7.32m in width with 1.11m sidewalks on both sides, and is now higher by 1.20 meters to prevent log clogging and higher river water capacity absorption during typhoons.
“Transition roads will be regraded and repaved with six meters of Portland cement with asphalt overlay and extensions,” he said.
