The San Juanico Bridge is the country’s longest bridge, spanning the San Juanico Strait to connect Tacloban City in Leyte to the municipality of Sta. Rita, Samar. The 2.16-kilometer bridge was built in 1973 and contains 43 spans raising the roadway 41 meters above the water. A large arch under the bridge (along the straight portion) permits boats to pass underneath.
I’m not sure if the whole thing should be considered as one bridge (and hence retain its longest bridge title) since it clearly traverses the island in the middle of the strait. Then again, you can’t really go onto the island from the bridge since the roadway is elevated even there. In addition, one highly popular but questionable claim is that the San Juanico Strait is the world’s narrowest strait. I’m quite sure there are even narrower straits somewhere.
Anyway, go see some ground-level photos of the bridge from Google Images.
Download KML file (for Google Earth)
12 people have responsed to “San Juanico Bridge”
your bridge is prety but its to long but thats ok
It actually doesnt traverse any island in between. It only connects Leyte and Samar. The island that seemed to be traversed is one of the uninhabited islands that can be found all around the bridge. That island is directly below the bridge hence it looks like that.
WHY it was called SAn JUanico Bridge???? WHy??
Yadj, it’s named after the strait it traverses. As for why the strait was named San Juanico, I have no idea, but maybe it came from the San Juanico place in Baja California, Mexico. The Philippines was administered as a colony of Mexico (New Spain) back then.
just an additional info: i don’t know if people who have crossed the bridge noticed it but the bridge’s shaped in an S and an L (after the two islands it connects Samar and Leyte)…=)
i hope next time you will feature the eastern samar……pls!!!!!!!!!!!!!! tnx much
tnx 4 ur appreciation about san juanico bridge, 4 d info of many other’s der r stil many beautiful places in leyte & samar;but stil tnx…………….
i think the claim is that it is the “narrowest NAVIGABLE strait”.
San Juanico Was VEry beautiful
the bridge is amasing! but the idea of constructing a bridge in an unprogressive place is impractical! how many cars are crossing the bridge? the should’ve use barge or pumpboats as their transpo… the bridge costs the filipino money! it could’ve been used for some other projects that trully of benefits to the people….
@yingzy, the bridge is part of a trunk highway network, and its construction is definitely worth it.
@yingzy: and the bridge is the easiest travel by land from northern part of the Philippines to the southern… and besides, the city where san juanico bridge is located – tacloban city, is progressing already (newly proclaimed highly urbanized city, i think) with malls, entertainment hubs, bars and coffee shops and international schools (ex. CIE, with mother school based in cebu and top 9 international school in the philippines)…
there’s nothing wrong in building the bridge in that location…
amazing bridges are not built in progressive cities alone, it can also be a bridge to progress in developing areas…