The Santiago Ecological Society (Soeci) says that the route that would be chosen by the Ministry of Public Works for the construction of a new Cibao-South road is the worst of the alternatives, as reported in Diario Libre. Soeci president Victor Medrano said that the route would cause major environmental damages to protected areas.
There is speculation that the Minister of Public Works Gonzalo Castillo will announce that the route Sabaneta-Moncion-El Rubio-San Jose de las Matas-Santiago is the most convenient from an economic and ecological point of view to connect San Juan de la Maguana in the southwest with Santiago in the center of the country. The government has been analyzing 17 alternatives. The Sabaneta-Santiago road would arguing that it is the shortest and most jobs will be created. There is speculation the new route would facilitate mining exploitation in the area.
As reported in Listin Diario, Castillo said some weeks would be taken to prepare the budget for the road.
It is speculated that the chosen route for the new road would start in Sabaneta in southwestern San Juan de la Maguana and would cross the Central Mountain Range and protected areas. Medrano of Soeci said that it would cause serious damages to the forests and rivers, including the Yaque del Norte, the main source of water for Cibao region aqueducts.
He said more than 100 small rivers will be affected and approximately 15 million square meters of protected forests will be destroyed.
“I think it is an error to choose the route taking into consideration that it is the shortest distance and the economic cost of the road, leaving aside the environmental factor,” said Medrano. He said better alternatives are to use the international road to connect the southwest with the northwest (Pedro Santana and Restauracion), or the Jarabacoa-Ocoa-San Juan route, or Piedra Blanca-Rancho Arriba-Ocoa-San Juan de la Maguana.
The Academy of Sciences of the Dominican Republic says the roadway will cause permanent damage to river resources. A recent study prepared by environmentalists Eleuterio Martinez and Jose Manuel Mateo outlines the possible damages. Mateo is the director of biodiversity at the Ministry of Environment. The study carried out for the Academy of Sciences showed that the land movements to build the mountain road would result in the sedimentation of the rivers, would endanger the operation of the Sabaneta Dam that provides water to irrigate 300,000 tareas of farm land (1,887 hectares), and would affect several national park and reserves of the country, opening these to land invasions by squatters.
Luis Scheker, vice president of the Academy of Sciences, said that the results of the study were sent to the Ministry of Environment and Ministry of Public Works on 12 January 2014 but were not officially acknowledged by either of these ministries.
While the route has yet to be formally announced by the government, earlier Minister of Public Works Gonzalo Castillo has said there are plans to start construction no later than August 2014.
http://www.diariolibre.com/noticias/2014/05/19/i615471_ecologistas-rechazan-trazado-anunciado-para-carretera-cibao-sur.html
http://www.diariolibre.com/noticias/2014/01/24/i451671_carretera-cibao-sur-pondra-ros-riesgo.html