Odebrecht roads in the south east and east

Kipling333

Bronze
Jan 12, 2010
2,528
829
113
From early last friday to late last sunday , I drove from Zona Colonial to Punta Cana and Bavaro along las Americas and then on the main autopistas and after playing some golf ,I went to Miches and then Sabana de la mar, where I stayed at night returning along the same route. Apart from las Americas to el peaje at the airport, and some work in progress just past the airport , all construction was done by Odebrecht . The tolls were 60 pesos near the airport, 100 pesos near la Romana, 60 pesos near Higuey and finally 100 pesos closer to Punta Cana.
What a wonderfully easy driving experience along roads in near perfect condition that must be the envy of all countries in our region. The two enormous spans across the gorge of the Rio Chavon are superb ,especially remembering the previous bridge that claimed the lives of more than 100 people over the previous decade. I think people have forgotten the tortuous trip from San Pedro via la Romana , Higuey and Otra Banda to Punta Cana or Bavaro along a very narrow road that took three to four hours hours and now takes about just over one hour . The constant danger from big buses and trucks has been replaced by safe roads.
Previously it was a very rough road from Bavaro to Miches but now it is paradise all the way to Sabana which is a most charming town. There has been a huge increase in the number of tourist buses using all these roads as well as more cars but now it is easy driving whereas before ,with many less vehicles, it was a nightmare .
There are many here who may not know all the dramas of trying to get the Coral Highway built from La Romana to Bavaro and it took a natural disaster in the form of major flooding for the Government to be able to use a law to change contractor to get things moving.. the Bavaro and Punta Cana hotels had made large contributions to get the Highway built but nothing was happening. About two or three years ago I wrote about seeing more than 100 large construction machines on the way from Bavaro to Sabana ..I do not know where they have now gone.. I suppose to now half finished projects in the north .
It seems that most readers and contributors here are from the capital and the north and are wondering about the amazing continuous growth of the eastern region. To no small part we can thank the DR Government and also the construction company Odebrecht ..they have transformed the entire region . All cost a lot more money than the DR had at the time and it took much persuasion to get the Government to borrow large amounts of money and to appoint Odebrecht to bring in huge amounts of equipment and staff. But it has paid off already many many times over .
I read about some agent and some officials receiving $92 million to facilitate these great infrastructure improvements and now I read about people wanting Odebrecht banned. I know none of these people , but if only took $92 million to transform this country, then I would not be too worried about dancing girls or payoffs, but would be thanking God for some great decision making and some magnificent civil construction work .
 

irishpaddy

Bronze
Sep 3, 2013
1,166
460
83
From early last friday to late last sunday , I drove from Zona Colonial to Punta Cana and Bavaro along las Americas and then on the main autopistas and after playing some golf ,I went to Miches and then Sabana de la mar, where I stayed at night returning along the same route. Apart from las Americas to el peaje at the airport, and some work in progress just past the airport , all construction was done by Odebrecht . The tolls were 60 pesos near the airport, 100 pesos near la Romana, 60 pesos near Higuey and finally 100 pesos closer to Punta Cana.
What a wonderfully easy driving experience along roads in near perfect condition that must be the envy of all countries in our region. The two enormous spans across the gorge of the Rio Chavon are superb ,especially remembering the previous bridge that claimed the lives of more than 100 people over the previous decade. I think people have forgotten the tortuous trip from San Pedro via la Romana , Higuey and Otra Banda to Punta Cana or Bavaro along a very narrow road that took three to four hours hours and now takes about just over one hour . The constant danger from big buses and trucks has been replaced by safe roads.
Previously it was a very rough road from Bavaro to Miches but now it is paradise all the way to Sabana which is a most charming town. There has been a huge increase in the number of tourist buses using all these roads as well as more cars but now it is easy driving whereas before ,with many less vehicles, it was a nightmare .
There are many here who may not know all the dramas of trying to get the Coral Highway built from La Romana to Bavaro and it took a natural disaster in the form of major flooding for the Government to be able to use a law to change contractor to get things moving.. the Bavaro and Punta Cana hotels had made large contributions to get the Highway built but nothing was happening. About two or three years ago I wrote about seeing more than 100 large construction machines on the way from Bavaro to Sabana ..I do not know where they have now gone.. I suppose to now half finished projects in the north .
It seems that most readers and contributors here are from the capital and the north and are wondering about the amazing continuous growth of the eastern region. To no small part we can thank the DR Government and also the construction company Odebrecht ..they have transformed the entire region . All cost a lot more money than the DR had at the time and it took much persuasion to get the Government to borrow large amounts of money and to appoint Odebrecht to bring in huge amounts of equipment and staff. But it has paid off already many many times over .
I read about some agent and some officials receiving $92 million to facilitate these great infrastructure improvements and now I read about people wanting Odebrecht banned. I know none of these people , but if only took $92 million to transform this country, then I would not be too worried about dancing girls or payoffs, but would be thanking God for some great decision making and some magnificent civil construction work .

Kipling did you stay in an hotel in Sabana de la mar?
 

bob saunders

Platinum
Jan 1, 2002
32,502
5,930
113
dr1.com
Well if largesse is going to be spread around it should be spread around the whole country. Odebrecht has a good building and engineering reputation. Probably they could have won the contracts with much smaller bribes.
 

Kipling333

Bronze
Jan 12, 2010
2,528
829
113
Well if largesse is going to be spread around it should be spread around the whole country. Odebrecht has a good building and engineering reputation. Probably they could have won the contracts with much smaller bribes.

In my opinion ,the major task for Odebrecht was convincing the DR government to make such a huge investment in infrastructure by large borrowings.It must be remembered that before them, hardly very little civil engineering work had been done. I doubt if the Government even had an estimates department who could evaluate the huge amount of work that was to be done so rapidly . And to obtain the finance would have been a massive task ..the $92 million seems most modest an amount of commission for that
 

reilleyp

Well-known member
Dec 12, 2006
1,190
663
113
From early last friday to late last sunday , I drove from Zona Colonial to Punta Cana and Bavaro along las Americas and then on the main autopistas and after playing some golf ,I went to Miches and then Sabana de la mar, where I stayed at night returning along the same route. Apart from las Americas to el peaje at the airport, and some work in progress just past the airport , all construction was done by Odebrecht . The tolls were 60 pesos near the airport, 100 pesos near la Romana, 60 pesos near Higuey and finally 100 pesos closer to Punta Cana.
What a wonderfully easy driving experience along roads in near perfect condition that must be the envy of all countries in our region. The two enormous spans across the gorge of the Rio Chavon are superb ,especially remembering the previous bridge that claimed the lives of more than 100 people over the previous decade. I think people have forgotten the tortuous trip from San Pedro via la Romana , Higuey and Otra Banda to Punta Cana or Bavaro along a very narrow road that took three to four hours hours and now takes about just over one hour . The constant danger from big buses and trucks has been replaced by safe roads.
Previously it was a very rough road from Bavaro to Miches but now it is paradise all the way to Sabana which is a most charming town. There has been a huge increase in the number of tourist buses using all these roads as well as more cars but now it is easy driving whereas before ,with many less vehicles, it was a nightmare .
There are many here who may not know all the dramas of trying to get the Coral Highway built from La Romana to Bavaro and it took a natural disaster in the form of major flooding for the Government to be able to use a law to change contractor to get things moving.. the Bavaro and Punta Cana hotels had made large contributions to get the Highway built but nothing was happening. About two or three years ago I wrote about seeing more than 100 large construction machines on the way from Bavaro to Sabana ..I do not know where they have now gone.. I suppose to now half finished projects in the north .
It seems that most readers and contributors here are from the capital and the north and are wondering about the amazing continuous growth of the eastern region. To no small part we can thank the DR Government and also the construction company Odebrecht ..they have transformed the entire region . All cost a lot more money than the DR had at the time and it took much persuasion to get the Government to borrow large amounts of money and to appoint Odebrecht to bring in huge amounts of equipment and staff. But it has paid off already many many times over .
I read about some agent and some officials receiving $92 million to facilitate these great infrastructure improvements and now I read about people wanting Odebrecht banned. I know none of these people , but if only took $92 million to transform this country, then I would not be too worried about dancing girls or payoffs, but would be thanking God for some great decision making and some magnificent civil construction work .

Sorry I cannot agree. Maybe set up an honest bidding system and do the nice job at the correct price? Why have someone at the top make $90 million, and the Haitians and Dominicans mixing cement on the street in the hot sun work for $10 per day? No wonder some cannot wait to kill or rob whitey. I would be a little angry too.
 

Kipling333

Bronze
Jan 12, 2010
2,528
829
113
No Irish Paddy I stayed privately ..at present there do not seem to be any comfortable hotels except for one in the National Park and very few places to eat except down near the jetties .. The big hotel is on the hill at Miches ..
 

windeguy

Platinum
Jul 10, 2004
42,211
5,966
113
Some will say the ends justify the means when it comes to bribery.

At least the the DR did get something good out of the scandals with Odebrecht as opposed to the Super Tucanos fiasco.
 

Derfish

Gold
Jan 7, 2016
4,441
2
0
Some will say the ends justify the means when it comes to bribery.

At least the the DR did get something good out of the scandals with Odebrecht as opposed to the Super Tucanos fiasco.

Oderbrecht got runout of Panama years ago.They bid on a second bridge across the canal and did a preliminary study and made recommendations. Some US engineers were called in and said no don't build a bridge here. A European engineering firm was called in and they said don't build a bridge here, look elsewhere for a site. Oderbrecht built the bridge anyway. It was the Centanaria bridge supposed to open in 2005 to celebrate 100 years of the canal. It opened 2 years late, but within 6 months the banks next to the approach were washing away, and the bridge had to be shut down for a while. It is now open, but for 2 years a sign was u in English and Spanish saying The experts from USA and Europe told us not to build the bridge here! Oderbrecht was then prohibited from bidding on any more work in the country.
 

drstock

Silver
Oct 29, 2010
4,502
2,086
113
Cabarete
Sorry I cannot agree. Maybe set up an honest bidding system and do the nice job at the correct price? Why have someone at the top make $90 million, and the Haitians and Dominicans mixing cement on the street in the hot sun work for $10 per day? No wonder some cannot wait to kill or rob whitey. I would be a little angry too.

I agree with the first two sentences, but the rest seems pretty irrelevant to Odebrecht.
 

beeza

Silver
Nov 2, 2006
3,479
731
113
But why the four lane highway to Miches? What's in Miches other than a fishing village and a colmado? I've flown over it several times and is a wonderful piece of engineering, but I can never stop thinking why. I've never seen a vehicle on it, which makes it a great emergency runway should I ever need it!

When in contrast the north coast has been in dire need of a four lane road to connect Puerto Plata province to Santiago. There are a lot more people and voters in POP than Miches!
 

Kipling333

Bronze
Jan 12, 2010
2,528
829
113
I know nothing about this company ,Odebrecht in other countries. My comments refer solely to the huge amount of work done by the company in the DR which has transformed this country . From the tollway between the capital to Samana from the tollways and road works between the capital and Sabana de la Mar via Bavaro , this country now has some great roads .
Now work has been stopped on Piedra Blana to Cruce de Ocoa road, on the maritime terminals in Samana and Sabana de la Mar which would have boosted tourism and other work in Santiago .. I wonder now when these projects will be finished , maybe never .
The big picture has now been halted.
 

Chirimoya

Well-known member
Dec 9, 2002
17,850
982
113
But why the four lane highway to Miches? What's in Miches other than a fishing village and a colmado? I've flown over it several times and is a wonderful piece of engineering, but I can never stop thinking why. I've never seen a vehicle on it, which makes it a great emergency runway should I ever need it!

When in contrast the north coast has been in dire need of a four lane road to connect Puerto Plata province to Santiago. There are a lot more people and voters in POP than Miches!

IIRC the four-lane highway ends some time around Macao, after which it is just two lanes all the way until Miches.
 
Feb 7, 2007
8,005
625
113
The Coral highway has some major construction issues and flaws. Bávaro News reports from a few years back have details. La Rotonda de Punta Cana is one of those many flaws.
 

Chirimoya

Well-known member
Dec 9, 2002
17,850
982
113
The design of the original interchange was much more complex. It was more like a clover interchange with underpasses and/or flyovers. Well before the full extent of the sh¡t with Odebrecht hit the fan there was speculation about what had happened to the difference in cost between what was budgeted and what was built.
 

Kipling333

Bronze
Jan 12, 2010
2,528
829
113
But why the four lane highway to Miches? What's in Miches other than a fishing village and a colmado? I've flown over it several times and is a wonderful piece of engineering, but I can never stop thinking why. I've never seen a vehicle on it, which makes it a great emergency runway should I ever need it!

When in contrast the north coast has been in dire need of a four lane road to connect Puerto Plata province to Santiago. There are a lot more people and voters in POP than Miches!

I can answer that ..When Gustavo Cizneros was planning his major tourist development ,he said he was not going to plough in millions unless the Government built a good road to Miches ..So they came to an agreement , buy at this stage the development has stalled but already has spent millions but the town remains unchanged
 

Kipling333

Bronze
Jan 12, 2010
2,528
829
113
The Coral highway has some major construction issues and flaws. Bávaro News reports from a few years back have details. La Rotonda de Punta Cana is one of those many flaws.

Why is the Rotunda a flaw at Punta Cana .?? I have not seen or heard of accidents there , they are normally on the fast straight parts of the roads .The only other problem I saw was a deep rut caused by some large truck driving along on a wheel rim .
 

ju10prd

On Vacation!
Nov 19, 2014
4,210
0
36
Accountkiller
The Coral highway has some major construction issues and flaws. Bávaro News reports from a few years back have details. La Rotonda de Punta Cana is one of those many flaws.

It cost 5.7million dollars per kilometer across generally flat terrain several years ago.

The cost of a 4 lane highway in the US now runs between 4 to 6 million us dollars per mile which is 2.7 to 4 million per kilometer.

Just across the water in Puerto Rico there are better highways than DR.

Go figure if the 92 million bribes offered any real value for money for DR or was this a horrendous rip of by a criminal organisation who gained 5 billion dollars worth of work as result of that bribery.

There are some good civil engineering works throughout the country that were not built by Odebrecht including some fine roads such as the road to San Juan and between El Catey and Coson. And some other Odebrecht roads have problems such as the Piedra Blanca to Rancho Arriba and the Jarabacoa to Constanza roads. Had international contractors including Chinese contractors been given a fair opportunity to tender imo DR would have equal or better roads at much better value. And so allow other much needed public works to proceed such as supply of water to every household and better roads to the North Coast already.

It is hard to understand anybody wanting to promote a criminal organisation which is exactly what Odebrecht have been proven to be.
 
Feb 7, 2007
8,005
625
113
I have not seen or heard of accidents there , they are normally on the fast straight parts of the roads .

Is this a frikin' joke? La Rotonda is one of the most dangerous places on the Coral Highway.

Not for nothing on the inbound lanes from Santo Domingo towards La Rotonda there are warning signs and multiple speed bumps which make even the suicide driver to slow down.

But just for the fun of it, test drive the Rotonda inbound from SD at high speed. Afterwards, please post a report of your experience and please include pictures of your former car.