Preservation of old bridge in Dagupan sought

• Source: http://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/990100
• Wednesday, May 24, 2017

(PNA)

DAGUPAN CITY — A retired public school official in Dagupan has sought the preservation of the remnants of the Franklin Bridge at the bank of the Calmay bridge to serve as a memento of the past for the future generations of Dagupeños.

Leon Palaganas, retired school supervisor of the City Schools Division, said the Franklin Bridge used to link the downtown area of Dagupan to Barangays Calmay and Carael till it was washed out by the big flood in 1935.

When it was still up, it used to be the only link between central and eastern Pangasinan to western Pangasinan, Palaganas said.

Washed out together with Franklin bridge was the San Albertos Magnus College, a branch of Ateneo de Manila, which was the first sectarian school in Pangasinan.

The college was located near the western edge of the bridge.

Palaganas proposed to the executive committee for the 70th Platinum Year celebration of Dagupan on June 20 to do something to preserve the remnants of the Franklin Bridge which was among the declared heritage sites of Dagupan.

He said the remaining portion of the Franklin bridge can be converted into a classy cafe or a restaurant to allow diners a bird's eye view of the Calmay River.

Palaganas identified a possible investor who wants to restore the remnants of the Franklin bridge and convert it into a cafe and restaurant.

To date the remnants of the bridge is now dilapidated as it already gave way to the elements for a longtime.

The Department of Education (Deped) headed by City Schools Superintendent Froserfinal Bravo is in charge of making preparations for the 70th anniversary of Dagupan on June 20.

At the same time, the executive committee agreed to give posthumous award to the late Restituto Basa, a historian who wrote the book on the history of Dagupan.

The committee was still consulting Basa when he died due to lingering illness some two months ago.