The Minister of Public Works Miguel Vargas announced the restarting of the construction of the bridge parallel to the Juan Pablo Duarte Bridge, the Santiago-Navarrete highway, the Autovía del Este. The completion of the Autovía del Este, together with the completion of works at the Las Americas Expressway, considerably reduce driving time from Santo Domingo to eastern tourist destinations. Vargas also announced the government would build several overpasses for pedestrians at Las Americas, Autopista Duarte and 27 de Febrero expressways. He said the first to be built will be those in the proximity of the Darío Contreras and Rodolfo de la Cruz hospitals. (6 October 2000)
