Hi everyone
Can anyone tell me what the current state of the mountain road from Puerto Plata to Santiago is like?
Haven't driven that route for a couple of years but will be doing so next weekend. Last time I drove that way parts of the road were in terrible condition but they were working on fixing it, so just wondering whether the work was ever completed?
Thanks!
We actually live on this road and have been operating an ecolodge here (
Tubagua Plantation Eco Village near Puerto Plata - 19 kms from Puerto Plata) for the last four years. We've also been building a community organization incubated by JICA (Japanese Int'l Cooperation Agency) to develop rural tourism in Puerto Plata province. That said, it's easy to see why the condition of the road is paramount to us.
I'll first give our version of the condition of the road, then follow up with news about a few related developments.
The logical definition of "Good Condition" for this winding road (that cuts through mountains, is subject to landslides and runs over seismic faults) would be "the ability to transit comfortably at the legal speed limit of 50 kph." This is a secondary rural highway that twists and turns as it passes through many small communities where people virtually "live on the street." It's not a speedway, not at the best of times or conditions.
So let's recognize it for what it is: a 45-km amazingly scenic mountain road that calls for an unhurried, relaxing, 60 minutes to cross - a pleasant alternative to the truck-laden main highway that goes through Navarrete.
1- The "turistica" runs 30 kms from Gran Parada Junction (where it meets north coast Hwy 5) to its highest point at the provincial border, La Cumbre, before heading down about 10 kms to Gurabo where it levels off and leads into Santiago, another 5 kms.
2- Working north from Edificio Hache in Santiago, the first 20 kms (to the Pedro Garcia junction) have been repaved and a lot of the runoff ditches re-built. There is a section of about 100 meters near Pedro Garcia that is slightly washboard, awaiting final paving.
3- The second 25 kms from P-Garcia to Gran Parada has about 30 washboard stretches of 10 meters to 150 meters in length, and maybe 100 standalone potholes; most are small, non treacherous, but you have to keep an eye open.
4- The worst part of the road is the approach to the Gran Parada junction; about 50% of a 2-km stretch suffers from washouts and is markedly uncomfortable, you have to drive at about 15- to 20 kph.
5- There used to be four places along the road (two near Pedro Garcia and two near Gran Parada) where total erosion had reduced the road to one lane alongside a precipice?scary! Three of them are now fully repaired, buffered with gabionage, awaiting final pavement. There is one such spot left to do, between Camu and Tubagua.
So our "official" road report is: approximately 10% of this 45-km road is washboard where your speed is reduced to 15-20 kph. Watch out for scattered potholes at all times. Lack of lighting and many curves makes it unadvisable for nighttime driving if you're unfamiliar with the road. Take your time along this route and enjoy one of the prettiest drives the Dominican Republic has to offer.
Our community organization has recently installed signage and published a Route Guide that you can download free at
Ruta Panor?mica Puerto Plata - Santiago. The guide is associated and sequential road signs installed every two kilometers together enable sightseers to locate places of interest as they drive the road. Check out the guide, it's interesting...
Behind the scenes we have been lobbying hard for attention to the highway. We like to think our efforts have indeed contributed to the slow-but-sure repairs that have been taking place.
Our position is that all this highway really needs is 1- preserve the good parts by plugging the the small potholes that appear after every rainy season; 2- conduct maintenance on the unstable parts every 4 months to control washboard; 3- clean out the plugged runoff gutters that already exist along most of the highway. By doing only these things the highway can maintain "Good Condition" status as described above.
Problem is, the local municipalities don't control the money. This road falls under the centralized gov't dept of Public Works, where the engineers are not interested in piddling annual maintenance budgets rather justifications for major projects where millions of dollars flow. So now we have Public Works "experts" saying in the media that the only solution is to forge an entirely new highway - that will cost a billion dollars. Fact is, the cost of cutting just one kilometer of new road - through the same unstable mountains - is enough to cover the cost of plugging 100 potholes and smoothing out 5 kilometers of washboard for several years. Maintenance: what a clever concept!
So our community organization is working on a study of the highway with the intent to publish an annual maintenance proposal that would refute the Public Works big-budget experts' opinions and provide our two local township mayors with with a lobbying resource to get funding administered locally in order to keep the road at a regular level of Good Condition.
It's been an interesting challenge, there's been some significant progress, we don't how fast and how soon we will get things into balance. The cynics will surely have interesting input.
As we work on this, you can help by taking a moment to download the Route Guide at
Ruta Panor?mica Puerto Plata - Santiago and plan for a pleasant hour's trip over our scenic road. Take time to stop at the amazing plant nurseries, indulge in a cholesterol attack at a chicharron stand, stop for organically grown fruits sold roadside, pick up some same-day fresh local yogurt or queso de hoja, go for a swim at La Tina de Yasica, and best of all now that you're rolling at only 20 miles per hour, enjoy the ultimate forbidden fruit: a cold Presidente to sip as you tool a long the the "turistica"...
Who knows, this road just might become, as it has for us, your all-time favorite countryside drive in the Dominican Republic!
Best,
Tim Hall
