CONSTRUCTION of the new Domalandan bridge in Lingayen will be completed before Christmas, House Speaker Jose de Venecia, Jr. enthusiastically announced Friday.
Damaged by strong currents due to floods some seven years ago, the vital link to western Pangasinan needed at least P700 billion to reconstruct it. Budget constraints coming in installments had delayed its reconstruction.

The project was started during the time of deposed President Joseph Estrada but work went full blast only during the past years with the House leader seeing to it that funds are set aside for it every year.
Commuters and motorists from western Pangasinan today take the longer route via barangay Socony in Bugallon to get to Lingayen and Dagupan.
De Venecia said such inconvenience will come to pass with the opening shortly of the new bridge to motorists.
Meanwhile, residents of barangay Tapuac located near the Pantal bridge project have complained about the loud noise caused by the piling works of the contractor which go on, they said, up to the wee hours of the night.
They asked that such piling works be stopped at around 10 p.m. so as not to disturb people around the area.
De Venecia said work on the Pantal bridge project is going full blast.
The bridge will connect the new Pantal-Lucao diversion road. The new roadline will greatly help decongest traffic at the downtown area as motorists bound for the west will no longer pass thru the busy roads in the heart of the city.
Funding for the project came from a soft loan by a Japanese bank under the rural roads and bridges program.