PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has ordered the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to expedite the installation of a temporary bridge in Buhangin District after severe weather triggered the total structural collapse of a vital crossing earlier this week.
Clearing operations at Callawa Bridge 2 in Barangay Callawa began in earnest on Wednesday night, just 24 hours after a combined weather system of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) and Easterlies unleashed flash floods that washed out the infrastructure.
To restore regional transport lines, the DPWH confirmed it is rushing to install an engineered steel Bailey bridge. The emergency assembly and necessary abutment reinforcement are projected to take up to one month to complete.
National directive for rapid response
The swift mobilization follows a direct order from Malacañang Palace to bypass standard administrative delays and restore the flow of commerce and public transportation immediately.
According to the DPWH XI, President Marcos explicitly directed the acceleration of the construction of the temporary bridge to minimize the economic and travel disruptions to motorists.
Crews are currently working under floodlights to clear fractured concrete debris and stabilize the riverbanks.
Because Callawa Bridge 2 remains completely impassable to all classes of vehicles, local traffic and disaster authorities have issued an urgent public advisory.
Motorists navigating the Buhangin-Callawa corridor are instructed to utilize Katualan Road as the primary alternative detour.
The Davao City Police Office (DCPO) has already deployed personnel to high-impact intersections along the detour route to manage the sudden influx of diverted provincial traffic.
Disaster agencies maintain that while the river waters have leveled out, the structural integrity of the surrounding terrain remains highly volatile, making compliance with the Katualan detour mandatory until structural sign-offs are cleared next month.
