The Marcelo Fernan Bridge, also known as the Second Cebu–Mactan Bridge and locally as the Second Bridge, is an extradosed

cable-stayed bridge A cable-stayed bridge has one or more ''towers'' (or ''pylons''), from which wire rope, cables support the bridge deck. A distinctive feature are the cables or wikt:stay#Etymology 3, stays, which run directly from the tower to the deck, norm ...

located in

Metro Cebu Metropolitan Cebu, or simply Metro Cebu (; ), is the main urban center of the province of Cebu in the Philippines. Metro Cebu is located along the central eastern portion of the island including the nearby island of Mactan. It accounts for 19. ...

in the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

. It crosses the Mactan Channel, connecting

Mandaue Mandaue (), officially the City of Mandaue (; ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Central Visayas region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 364,116 people. ...

in mainland Cebu to

Lapu-Lapu City Lapu-Lapu, officially the City of Lapu-Lapu (; ), is a highly urbanized city in the Central Visayas region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 497,604 people. It was formerly known as Opon, which was ch ...

Mactan Island Mactan is a densely populated island located a few kilometers (~1 mile) east of Cebu Island in the Philippines. The island is part of Cebu province and it is divided into the city of Lapu-Lapu and the municipality of Cordova. The island is s ...

. It is currently the second-longest

in the

after the

Cebu–Cordova Link Expressway The Cebu–Cordova Link Expressway (CCLEX), also known as the Cebu–Cordova Bridge and the Third Cebu–Mactan Bridge (or simply, the Third Bridge), is an toll bridge expressway in Metro Cebu, Philippines. The bridge connects the South Road P ...

, which also crosses the Mactan Channel. Before it was named the Marcelo Fernan Bridge, it was called the ''Consolacion Bridge'', owing to its proximity to the municipality of

Consolacion Consolacion, officially the Municipality of Consolacion (; ), is a municipality of the Philippines, municipality in the Philippine Province, province of Cebu, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 148,012 people. ...

, which is from its north end. It is one of three bridges crossing the Mactan Channel, the others being the Mactan–Mandaue Bridge (opened in 1973) and the Cebu–Cordova Link Expressway (opened in 2022).

History

Marcelo Fernan Bridge was opened in August 1999 to decongest the traffic from the older Mactan–Mandaue Bridge, which opened in 1973. The bridge has a total length of with a centre span of and was inaugurated by

Philippine President The president of the Philippines (, sometimes referred to as ) is the head of state, head of government and chief executive of the Philippines. The president leads the executive branch of the Philippine government and is the commander-in- ...

Joseph Estrada Joseph Ejercito Estrada (; born Jose Marcelo Ejercito; April 19, 1937), also known by the nickname Erap, is a Filipino politician and former actor, who served as the 13th president of the Philippines from 1998 until his resignation in 2001. ...

on August 3, 1999. After its completion, the bridge had one of the widest and longest bridge spans in the

. The bridge was constructed with the help of the Japanese government. It was named after Senator Marcelo Fernan, a political figure from

Cebu City Cebu City, officially the City of Cebu, is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Central Visayas region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 964,169 people, making ...

Additional information

On the

side of the bridge, there is a park called the Millennium Park at the base of the bridge's piers, and the Filipino Seafarers Memorial is located in that park. Also, the bridge has two pedestrian walkways, one each on the north and south sides. On the

Cebu Island Cebu ( ; ), officially the Province of Cebu (; ), is a province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas region, and consists of a main island and 167 surrounding islands and islets. The coastal zone of Cebu is identified as a ...

side of the bridge, there is

, where the bridge can be accessed via United Nations Avenue. The

Mactan Mactan is a densely populated island located a few kilometers (~1 mile) east of Cebu Island in the Philippines. The island is part of Cebu province and it is divided into the city of Lapu-Lapu and the municipality of Cordova. The island is ...

side of the bridge, which is in

, can be accessed via Old Patiller Road, a spur road of the

Manuel L. Quezon Manuel Luis Quezon y Molina (, , , ; 19 August 1878 – 1 August 1944), also known by his initials MLQ, was a Filipino people, Filipino lawyer, statesman, soldier, and politician who was president of the Commonwealth of the Philippines from 1 ...

National Highway. The bridge also sits astride the northern end of the Mactan Channel, a gateway to the Cebu International Port managed by the Cebu Port Authority, where about 80% of domestic and international shipping operators and shipbuilders in the Philippines are located. The Mactan–Mandaue Bridge is about south of the Marcelo Fernan Bridge.

History

Additional information

See also

References

External links