Road Construction, Central and NE

cobraboy

Pro-Bono Demolition Hobbyist
Jul 24, 2004
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MotoCaribe just got back from another motorcycle tour of the central/NE DR.

I have never seen so much road construction:

Samana: in one day between Sanchez and Las Galeras, we counted 23 road crews/construction sites, with 9 requiring actual flagmen-including along the malecon and up the hill as you leave town to the east. While dust, dirt and mud was everywhere, serious progress is being made. When complete, it will be an awesome road! However, there was a "citizens consciousness raising" expression in one village as large rocks (6"-12" in diameter)were thrown under passing vehicles...including motorcycles (we were 100% OK, but I heard some hubcaps getting whacked)...and some tires burning. I suspect they are sick and tired of 2 years of nasty dust. I know I would be.

Road to Playa Rincon: Worst ever. Worst ever. Worst ever...and NO construction crews in sight. I just wish they'd take off the remaining old tarmac and just leave hard-packed dirt...it would improve conditions significantly.

Samana to El Limon: much to our surprise, there is a bunch of construction just outside of Samana city, ans several pairs of new speedbumps. There is around 2 miles of pea gravel spread all over the road waiting new pavement making for hazardous ice-like conditions.

Las Terranas to Sanchez Old Mountain road: Awful, and only a little repair work just outside of LT. And big trucks still take that road. I hit an unavoidable deep pothole so hard on a V-Strom I stopped to check for a bent rim (was OK.)

Sanchez-Nagua: Wow! Almost done! Some crews still out but overall that stretch is nice.

Nagua-Cabrera: several crews working laying new cable pipes and building drainage ditches.

Cabrera-Rio San Juan-Gaspar Hernandez: the area around Playa Grande just purely sucks. I ~hope~ it's on the repair radar screen, because the low spots can be hazardous. Might be a nice place for a shock absorber concession. Many bad stretches with little evidence of repair, but some patches have been made around the cattle drive areas.

Moca: we ran into an unexpected hazard-a road crew, no flagmen, using giant machinery that grinds up the old asphalt...leaving a 9" deep layer of SOFT asphalt dust behind spread across an entire lane. Low-slung cars had a hard time literally plowing through it, and those of us on a larger bike spent huge effort staying upright. There was no excuse for not having a flagman and allowing only one lane of traffic-on the pavement-by at a time. Very, very few motorcycles perform well on 9" of soft surface.

Autopista-El Rio: Wow! HUGE amount of construction and 8 areas of flagmen. One 2 mile steep, curvy grade had pre-paving pea gravel spread all over making for challenging uphill riding and treacherous...although fun...downhill riding. This is no place for excess speed in any vehicle. But many of the old washouts have been redone and the new asphalt is excellent!

El Rio-Constanza: a few flag crews around, a new bridge being built, welcome drainage ditches being built and much of the road if nice new asphalt.

Must be an election year, because a LOT is getting done!
 

dv8

Gold
Sep 27, 2006
31,266
363
0
it is an election year, local elections, that is.
and i remember when we went to punta cana there was lots of road works too. miesposo was pretty impressed since he took that ruta about 15 years ago and back then it was nothing but a dirt road (so he says).

and i hear new promises about fixing carretera POP - navarette. apparently there will be 4 lines and works are to start in march.
SOP anuncia para marzo construcci?n cuatro v?as carretera Puerto Plata- Navarrete
by the way, i am having some language/math issue here: "3 mili millones de peso" is 3 billions, right?
 

PICHARDO

One Dominican at a time, please!
May 15, 2003
13,280
893
113
Santiago de Los 30 Caballeros
it is an election year, local elections, that is.
and i remember when we went to punta cana there was lots of road works too. miesposo was pretty impressed since he took that ruta about 15 years ago and back then it was nothing but a dirt road (so he says).

and i hear new promises about fixing carretera POP - navarette. apparently there will be 4 lines and works are to start in march.
SOP anuncia para marzo construcci?n cuatro v?as carretera Puerto Plata- Navarrete
by the way, i am having some language/math issue here: "3 mili millones de peso" is 3 billions, right?

DR$ 3 Billion... Or! About US$83.4 million...