TACLOBAN CITY – The city government is preparing for the influx of trucks in the downtown area with the upcoming opening of the Tacloban-Amandayehan roll-on, roll-off (RoRo) route given the limited access to the San Juanico Bridge.
Tacloban braces for truck influx due to new RoRo route
Published May 28, 2025 03:41 pm
SAN Juanico Bridge (Tacloban CIO FB)
The San Juanico Bridge has been closed to vehicles above three tons in weight since May 15 as part of the two-year rehabilitation of the iconic bridge, which was completed in 1973 and is the only link from Samar to Leyte. It forms the nautical highway that links Luzon to Mindanao.
The Tacloban-Amandayehan has been identified as the best route between the islands of Samar and Leyte. Travel time between Tacloban City and Amandayehan Port is less than 30 minutes.
“We will lift the truck ban once the new route becomes operational. We also identified areas where cargo trucks can park while waiting for their turn to embark the RoRo vessel at the Tacloban port,” Mayor Alfred Romualdez told reporters Wednesday.
Under the existing policy, all six-wheel trucks and above are prohibited from entering Tacloban City downtown from 5 a.m. to 7 p.m., Mondays to Fridays.
The city has designated the Tacloban Bypass Road as a truck stop to prevent stranded trucks from obstructing the roadsides of its major thoroughfares.
Romualdez recalled that on the first day of the load limit at San Juanico Bridge, the city government ordered the transfer of stranded trucks to the Tacloban Bypass Road Extension.
“We did that because we want to make sure that there’s no traffic jam along the road leading to the Eastern Visayas Medical Center. We will also do that downtown because many people come here every day,” he said.
The city government has been bracing for traffic congestion after Transportation Secretary Vince Dizon, on May 18, requested the local government to make Amandayehan Port in Basey, Samar, functional within two weeks to address logistical hurdles amid the San Juanico Bridge load limit.
Dizon, who visited Tacloban and Amandayehan ports, said the instruction of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. was to ensure the uninterrupted movement of supplies between Leyte and Samar provinces despite the vital bridge’s limited access.
Currently, most of the cargo trucks take the RoRo route between Calbayog City in Samar and Ormoc City in Leyte. Travel time between two ports is 13 hours. (PNA)