The "New" RD-3

How do you rate the new RD-3 corridor?

  • 5 = Excellent

    Votes: 8 66.7%
  • 4

    Votes: 4 33.3%
  • 3 = Good

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • 2

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • 1 = Could be better

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    12

NALs

Economist by Profession
Jan 20, 2003
13,370
3,150
113
Now that the El Coral, Circunvalaci?n La Romana, Circunvalaci?n San Pedro, and the San Pedro-La Romana stretch of the Del Este highways are finally completed; what do you think of the new RD-3 corridor?

Any complaints regarding the design of the roads?

The tolls?

Safety concerns (that is not related to Dominican driving habits)?

Here is the full corridor from Punta Cana to Santo Domingo in just 4 minutes! LOL

[video=youtube;cX--2R9Vx14]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cX--2R9Vx14[/video]
 

dv8

Gold
Sep 27, 2006
31,266
363
0
well done, just hope it will last. miesposo travels there quite often so i am glad to see roads fixed and in good condition.
 

Chirimoya

Well-known member
Dec 9, 2002
17,850
982
113
I am delighted with it. 1:45 mins to the capital!

The only downside is not having an excuse for going to Crema (La Romana's finest eaterie) any more.
 

Castle

Silver
Sep 1, 2012
2,982
1
0
I think the new road is great. What I don't understand is, on the video I counted 3 toll booths without ever leaving the highway. Just like the Samana highway. Toll booths should be at the exits, not right on the highway. It 's annoying to pay three times within 1 or two hours, and it doesn't help with traffic, fuel economy, etc.
Still, it's much better than the old route. I did the Romana-Punta Cana leg the very first week after it opened (no tolls back then). I was practically the only one on the road. What a pleasant drive!
 

Empiric

New member
Apr 24, 2013
470
0
0
Sorry if hijacking the thread.

I think RD-3 it is good to continue/worsen the negative impact on the GDP.

imh oil/gas is the worst contributor to GPD, in most countries that have no oil, wonder what the GPD for Venezuela looks like.

What about an smaller [width] road and a single or dual track [simultaneos two way]

Advantes of railroad are many, i think they are even cheaper to build than those roads
 
Aug 6, 2006
8,775
12
38
Railroads are more economical, but you cannot take the train to your front door. I see the main transportation problem being that the capital is the hub, and to get from anywhere in the S to anywhere in the North, SW NW or NE you must pass through major congestion in the capital. The difficulty is the terrain, of course, and once there is a road from Cruce de Ocoa through San Jose and Jarabacoa to Santiago and points E and N of there, this will be a real boon.

The road from Juan Dolio to San Pedro is really smooth and speedy, very impressive. The new road from Cruce de Ocoa to San Jose is also shaping up. Very scenic.
 

NALs

Economist by Profession
Jan 20, 2003
13,370
3,150
113
They are building a bypass around Santo Domingo (and another one around Santiago too), but it can be anyone's guess when it will be finished.
 

Naked_Snake

Bronze
Sep 2, 2008
1,811
222
63
The difficulty is the terrain, of course, and once there is a road from Cruce de Ocoa through San Jose and Jarabacoa to Santiago and points E and N of there, this will be a real boon.

And this one is, in my opinion, the one that the gov. should be paying its undivided attention. It's high time for the south of the country to stop taking a back seat to the needs of the other regions. Although I would have loved more if the one connectiing Santiago to San Juan would have been given the approval.
 

Empiric

New member
Apr 24, 2013
470
0
0
Onassis,

"Railroads are more economical, but you cannot take the train to your front door."

1. That]s what you have taxis for...

2. A well designed trolley and metro/subway system can take you to a few blocks from your home, see nyc.

But any alternative, has to be 'approved' by "big business", they run the whole world, follow the money and find out, in any industry or social/economy system.

e.g. Gas, truck and vehicle manufacters and distributors love road DR-3, more power to them...
 

NALs

Economist by Profession
Jan 20, 2003
13,370
3,150
113
A feasibility study was done a few years ago and the only route that has sufficient demand to merit a train line is the Santo Domingo-Santiago corridor. That is also why the cargo and passenger train railway that the government is planning to build will be going that way. A railway towards the east (or south) is simply not profitable, so expect that for a very long time the only rail "service" in the east will continue to be the privately owned cargo trains of the Central Romana and other sugar companies in San Pedro de Macoris.
 
Aug 6, 2006
8,775
12
38
Onassis,

"Railroads are more economical, but you cannot take the train to your front door."

1. That]s what you have taxis for...

2. A well designed trolley and metro/subway system can take you to a few blocks from your home, see nyc.

But any alternative, has to be 'approved' by "big business", they run the whole world, follow the money and find out, in any industry or social/economy system.

e.g. Gas, truck and vehicle manufacturers and distributors love road DR-3, more power to them...

I am all for railroads, subways, metros and such, but governments do not build railroads these days because the wealthier people want to drive their cars and truck lines do not want to lose business, either. The tranvia system of Quito, Ecuador seems to be very popular, economical and cheap.
 

Empiric

New member
Apr 24, 2013
470
0
0
governments do not build railroads these days because the wealthier people want to drive their cars and truck lines do not want to lose business, either.

1- "wealthier people" are relatively few. Most dominican like to save $ (gas)

2- The main concern should be GPD, oil compsuntion is killing it, mainly due to fuel used by car/trucks.

3- Creative tax methods can force most people to use mass transportation, ideally moved by electricity, long distance trains are usually hybrid, easier than installing long electric lines.

Being really creative... cars could be electric and hooked to an electric line, just like trolleys, with just enough battery power [the main drawback] to hope from line to line, most people drive their car within the city after all.
 
Aug 6, 2006
8,775
12
38
The wealthier people are few, but they have a lot of clout. I agree that railroads are more efficient, and that they can be encouraged by all sorts of tax policies and other means. The network of commuter lines around Barcelona,Madrid, London, Paris and other European cities are the best examples of this. Japan and now China are building railroads instead of highways. I have insufficient knowledge of how things work in DR politics to comment on what should be done and how to encourage RRs there, and of course, as an American citizen, I have no influence whatever. Railroads in the DR seem to be a thing of the past. No one seems to have used the tracks that parallel the highway from Azua to Barahona in decades. There are tracks embedded in the streets in Barahona, but I have seen no trains. I was told that the tracks date back to the sugar boom in the 1920's. There are some tracks around Sanchez, but I saw no trains when I was there in the 1990's.
 

NALs

Economist by Profession
Jan 20, 2003
13,370
3,150
113
I don't know how anyone can say that railroads are a thing of the past in a country that is building a metro in its capital, has plans to build a passenger and cargo rail line connecting its two biggest cities (something like 80% of the DR's population lives in the capital, in the Cibao, and along the Duarte highway; and at most some 40% of capitale?os have their origins in the Cibao too), and there are plans to build a mass transit system in Santiago (rumors range from a possible metro, monorail or one of those at grade modern trollies that are quite popular in European cities).
 
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