Rt 5 repair
HI Drtampa, Judy and I just drove Rt 5 10 days ago. From Costambar to Cofresi, it looks like they repaved a section. The road seems to be a lot smoother than it used to be--and it's plenty wide, although they had not painted lines. Be careful though, I remember that there are still a few bumps in that area. We didn't go into Puerto Plata, so I don't know how the repair on Rt 5 in-town is going. I would still avoid that and take the Malecon around town which is much nicer.
Also, workers have doen a lot of cleaning and digging out the ditches on Rt 5 from Navarrette especially on the STI side of the tunnel. But, there are places where the pavement DROPS 6" or more off the side of the road, so be careful (pray that you don't have to swerve to miss somebody in those sections).
Hope this helps, Bob