President Hipolito Mejia was in San Pedro yesterday to formally initiate the construction of the San Pedro de Macoris-La Romana highway expansion. The government has entrusted the Spanish-Dominican engineering firm Concesionaria Dominicana de Autopistas y Carreteras with the 30-year concession contract. The company will double the size of the present 31.5-kilometer long highway and rebuild the side presently in use. Construction time is estimated at two years, and once complete, the expanded highway will connect San Pedro de Macoris with the new Autovia del Este. Diario Libre reports that the highway has a tab of RD$1.9 billion, however the government is using a concession model that guarantees profitability to the builders.
Public Works Minister Miguel Vargas Maldonado, speaking on the occasion, said that the government will install 10 new toll stations this year to increase collections to pay for the new highway improvements. Additionally, he said that the government plans to begin expansion of the La Romana-Higuey and Higuey-Veron (Punta Cana) highway this year.