THE SPANISH ERA COLONIAL BRIDGES OF TAYABAS
Establishment of permanent communities has been the legacy of Spanish colonization in the country. To connect these towns, roads and bridges were constructed. Currently, there are several stone bridges that still exist and for our #BuiltTraditionThursday of the #MuseumFromHome series, we feature the existing Spanish-Era Colonial Bridges of Tayabas City in the Province of Quezon.
The City of Tayabas has several Spanish-era colonial bridges including the well-preserved Puente de Malagonlong. But Malagonlong Bridge isn’t the only surviving Spanish old infrastructure in the province, there are ten other which were collectively declared as National Cultural Treasure (NCT) by the National Museum of the Philippines in 2011. These are Puente de Lakawan, Puente de Mate, Puente de Don Francisco de Asis, Puente de Gibanga, Puente de la Ese, Puente de la Princesa, Puente de Alitao, Puente de Isabel II, Puente de las Despedidas, and Puente de Tumuloy o Bai. The bridges were built adopting the arched construction with materials such as adobe stone, limestone, and molasses. Arch bridges are among the oldest types of bridges dating back to ancient Rome. The simplest shape of an arch bridge is a semicircular design with abutments on each end distributing the load from the deck to the sides. This kind of bridges do not need additional supports of reinforced steel and considered among the strongest in the world. Evidently seen on the bridges of Tayabas which have the same design and structure.
The Tayabas bridges span the rivers, streams, and creeks connecting the former town to the neighboring municipalities of Pagbilao, Sariaya, and Lucban as well as to the community within. The infrastructures are locally called puente and puentecito. The puentes usually stands above one-storey high with some having more than one arch. An example of this is Puente de Alitao, which was originally constructed in 1823 with four arches. Only two arches still exist today together with the parapet, spandrel, pier, and abutments. The bridge was built over Alitao River connecting the old town to the población and is still passable to vehicles. Another bridge with more than one arch is Puente de Isabel II in Barangay Baguio. Built with two arches along Tayabas-Sariaya road over Iyam River. The bridge was finished in 1853 and named after Queen Isabel II of Spain. The bridge is still intact and passable but restricted to light weight vehicles. Only one arch can be accessed by the public since the other arch is inside a private resort.
Other bridges such as Puente de Bai and Puente de las Despedidas have only one arch. Puente de Bai, also known as Puente de Tumuloy in Barangay Dapdap was part of an old road going to Palola, Lucban. The one arch stone bridge crosses the Bai Creek and served as the boundary of Tayabas and Lucban. It stands 7-meters high and 7-meters wide. Concrete road was built along the carriageway and is still passable to pedestrians and light weight vehicles. The lands on the vicinity of the bridge are privately owned. Puente de las Despedidas known as the “Farewell Bridge”, was the end road of Tayabas and the old route going to Manila or Laguna. It was built with one arch over Bigger Ibia River in Barangay Lalo. Only the spandrel wall, arch barrel, and abutments still exist. Concrete bridge was later constructed above the spandrel and is passable to all type of vehicles. Both sides of the vicinity of the bridge are maintained as open spaces and can be accessed by the public. Another one arch bridge is Puente de la Princesa, named after the Princess of Asturias of Northern Spain. Unfortunately, the bridge was bombed during World War II and only the stone abutments remains. A deck made of reinforced concrete was built over the ruins.
These arch bridges are easy to be missed. Concrete roads were built over the pavements covering the old carriageway while some have been widened with reinforced concrete constructions as part of a new parallel bridge structure. Most of the bridges have retained their width as defined by the existing stone masonry parapets and can be viewed from the riverbanks. The deterioration of these heritage properties is mainly caused by negligence, lack of awareness, and undesirable man-made interventions. It’s a good thing that the Local Government Unit of Tayabas City is actively preserving their Spanish-Era Colonial Bridges with the annual removal and treatment of vegetation as well as the masonry cleaning of these bridges.
The initiative of the LGU and the community of Tayabas to familiarize themselves and protect these heritage properties is very commendable and should be an inspiration for the public. These bridges are evidences of the ingenious engineering and construction styles that was used by our ancestors. Preserving them is keeping our rich history, culture, and identity. Tayabas isn’t the only place with existing Spanish-Era Colonial bridges on our country, if you visit an old town, you might see some. If you do, share it with us!
Text by Ar. K. Sepidoza Daysa
Illustrations and Photos by NMP Architectural Arts and Built Heritage Division
