President Luis Abinader was in Azua on 15 February 2023 for the inauguration of the around RD$100 million 13.2 km Azua city bypass road, a key part of the Circuito Vial Sur that is expediting east-west traffic to and from the capital city. The two-lane road diverts traffic heading east-west-east from the main streets of Azua. It is intended to benefit nine provinces in the south, south-central and southwest regions. Previously anyone headed in those directions had to pass through the congested streets of Azua city. The road connects Azua with Pedernales, Barahona, Bahoruco, San Juan, Elías Piña and Independencia province in the southwest.
President Luis Abinader stressed the opening of the new road settles a debt accumulated for decades and is an integral way to accelerate the definitive take-off of development in the region.
Construction of the work had begun during the administration of former President Hipólito Mejía (2000-2004). But construction would begin in 2012 and at the start of the Abinader administration in 2020 had only been completed in 30%.
The Circuito Vial Sur calls for an investment of more than RD$5 billion and is expected to benefit more than 800,000 inhabitants. The Azua road provides access to the communities of Emma Balaguer Project, Playa Monte Río, La Estancia, Puerto Viejo, Las Clavelinas, La Ceiba, La Ciénega, Sabana Yegua, Las Barías, El Rosario and Zona Franca de Azua. President Abinader stressed that the new road will invigorate these communities.
The first phase road begins at the entrance of the city of Azua, an has an extension of 13.2 kilometers until connecting with the major Sanchez highway, passing the Jura River, at the entrance of the community of Los Jovillos, and also very close to the Azua Free Zone.
The two-lane Azua bypass is part of the Circuito Vial Sur, designed to facilitate mobility to and from the south, southcentral and southwestern provinces, connecting these with Santo Domingo, with significant savings in time and distance.
The Circuit Vial Sur is made up of the expansion of the 6 de Noviembre highway, the Baní bypass, the Azua bypass and the reconstruction and modernization of the Barahona-Enriquillo and Enriquillo-Pedernales highways.
The press release also highlights the importance of the road for the efforts underway to develop Pedernales, the southwestern-most province in the country. The Circuito Vial Sur is intended to reduce an hour and a half the driving time to Pedernales from Santo Domingo.
Minister of Public Works Deligne Ascención explained that the new road, by bypassing the urban area of Azua, reduces traffic congestion in the center of the city, environmental pollution, and the longer travel time currently suffered by both residents of this locality and users of through traffic traveling to the Valdesia, El Valle and Enriquillo regions.
The government had expected to complete the work in August 2022, but it was delayed until now. The official reported that in addition to the Azua Bypass, an additional investment of has been made in the improvement of 13 kilometers of streets in Las Charcas and seven kilometers in Ansonia and Las Barías, including asphalting and the construction of sidewalks to benefit the communities.
The cost of the work is confusing. In a note published on 7 March 2022, the Presidency had reported the road would cost RD$100 million. But in the report issued on 15 February, the Presidency reports its cost as RD$5 billion, up from the RD$3.4 billion the 13.3 km road was originally estimated to cost. Minister of Public Works said during the inauguration that the Medina administration had only advanced the work 30% when spending 100% of the budget plus 25% additional. It is not clear if the RD$5 billion refers to the entire Circuito Vial Sur, as reported in DR1 Daily News, or just the Azua Bypass as reported by the Presidency in its rendering on the inauguration.
The media reports that minutes after the inauguration, a major traffic accident occurred, between a passenger bus and a truck loaded with tomatoes. While many persons were injured, no deaths were reported.
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Presidency
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Diario Libre
16 February 2023