Santo Domingo’s dangerous sinkholes

[Dolores]

Walking the streets of Santo Domingo has become a perilous undertaking for residents, who must navigate not only traffic but also the ever-present threat of falling into treacherous sinkholes caused by stolen manhole covers.

The theft of these vital infrastructure components has reached alarming levels, creating a serious public safety hazard, reports Diario Libre. Criminals steal the covers to sell the metal, leaving gaping holes in the street that expose pedestrians and drivers alike to potentially devastating accidents.

Some communities have resorted to makeshift solutions, filling holes with tires, rocks, or old car parts. However, these temporary fixes fail to address the root problem. Sinkholes plague neighborhoods across the economic spectrum, endangering everyone.

The daily experience of Santo Domingo’s pedestrians is a constant dodging of these...

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[PJT]

'Anyone could die" says he. Life is cheap in the RD, a mentality that frustrates the relief of open manhole hazards the public face every day, risks that can be remedied effortlessly.

Dammit! If it had a mind to, gov't could end this scourge rapidly. How many more children have to be sucked into the sewers before there is a national action engaged to rid the country of these perils?

Regards,

PJT

 

[NanSanPedro]

I wrote about this awhile ago, but I was walking in SDEste and fell into one when the streets were flooded and you didn't know there was a hole there. Gratefully, someone saw me go down and immediately stopped to help. My foot was momentarily caught but my head (and nothing else) was above water. It could have been so much worse.

 

[Manuel01]

There was a proposal to replace all the covers with new ones made from epoxi resign.
They have no value for recycling Businesses and ther for would not be stolen.
Never heart about it again. I guess that the company that keeps supplying new ones all the time has some friends
in the Government.

 

[AlterEgo]

There was a proposal to replace all the covers with new ones made from epoxi resign.
They have no value for recycling Businesses and ther for would not be stolen.
Never heart about it again. I guess that the company that keeps supplying new ones all the time has some friends
in the Government.

Exactly my thought when I read this today……what happened to the non-metal replacements?

 

[Jan]

They have non metal ones in the Colonial Zone renovated areas. The first ones broke when driven over so they had to reinvent them and now they've been holding up.

 

[CristoRey]

Exactly my thought when I read this today……what happened to the non-metal replacements?

Another problem that is easy to solve yet incompetence remains the word of the day.

 

[PJT]

Exactly my thought when I read this today……what happened to the non-metal replacements?

Heck! You can internet order plastic manholes covers, from Amazon, Ebay, Alibaba, and ect. This would be a great industry for the DR to manufacture its own replacement covers. Why is the DR gov't apathetic, sitting on its thumbs like always, on this matter and many other risks to the public?

Regards,

PJT

 

[cavok]

This is not just a problem in SD. I've seen it in Santiago, also. Probably everywhere. I wonder how many cars have had tires destroyed and rims bent because of this?

 

[M4kintosh]

This is not just a problem in SD. I've seen it in Santiago, also. Probably everywhere. I wonder how many cars have had tires destroyed and rims bent because of this?

It's nationwide problem. Sadly, there isn't a centralized/nationwide institution in charge of this so that's on dependency of every city hall/inapa/or acqueduct service in each province/city.

 

[JD Jones]

Heck! You can internet order plastic manholes covers, from Amazon, Ebay, Alibaba, and ect. This would be a great industry for the DR to manufacture its own replacement covers. Why is the DR gov't apathetic, sitting on its thumbs like always, on this matter and many other risks to the public?

Regards,

PJT

One would think making plastic covers with recycled plastics would be a no brainer.

 

[chico bill]

One would think making plastic covers with recycled plastics would be a no brainer.

One thing - they not only need to stand up to traffic (think an overloaded dump truck) but also not pop out when hit fast nor float out during heavy rains.
Someone is recycling the cast iron covers.
Go to the recyclers and tell them it's 10 years in prison and $10,000 fine for accepting one or even broken parts of ones, except from a government agency and recording their ID with photos of them.

 

[JD Jones]

One thing - they not only need to stand up to traffic (think an overloaded dump truck) but also not pop out when hit fast nor float out during heavy rains.
Someone is recycling the cast iron covers.
Go to the recyclers and tell them it's 10 years in prison and $10,000 fine for accepting one or even broken parts of ones, except from a government agency and recording their ID with photos of them.

C'mon, can't you imagine a 4 point latch to lock them down?