The Ministry of Public Works has finally responded to the quest of El Caribe reporters for an update on the Km 9 city connector roadworks. Herrera says the roadworks are 70 to 80% finished. He set a completion date of August 2024.
The connector would decongest traffic at Santo Domingo’s north exit/entrance. The works call for the expansion from 8 to 14 lanes in the stretch that connects the Duarte Highway and Av. Luperon in Santo Domingo.
The Ministry had announced the start of the works in February 2022 indicating these would be completed in 10 months. More than two years later, El Caribe reported that nothing was clear about when the works will be completed.
Deputy Minister for Supervision and Inspection Roberto Herrera said the delay has been because the merchant and transport businesses that command land in the area have refused to leave. He said at some point forced evictions may be necessary. Most of the businesses are informal operations that took over road areas to offer their goods to the passing public over the past 20 years.
The Ministry of Public Works seeks a consensus with the businesses that have refused to relocate. The Ministry is working with the Comptroller General of the Republic to determine the compensation payments.
In addition to the merchants, the Ministry is also working with the owners of the Km 9 bus terminal. A section of the bus terminal needs to be removed to give room to the new roadworks.
“They have their operations fronting with Av. JF Kennedy and now they will open to the back. That is agreed upon,” he pointed out.
He said a bridge needs to be built in the center of the project, but first, other businesses need to be removed. He said it could take 90 days to build the bridge. Already two others have been built as part of the project. “We built a bridge in the northern part and another in the southern part. Now, adapting those lanes of those new bridges that we built, we will close them in the middle, we will make way for those side bridges and we will finish building the middle bridge and then leave the fourteen lanes open,” Herrera described.
He also said a power tower needs to be relocated and expects this to happen this May. He said two others have already been relocated.
Since 24 February 2022, the Ministry of Public Works has been carrying out the expansion work from 8 to 14 lanes on the Kilometer 9 section of the Duarte highway.
The Ministry of Public Works says the work is an investment of around RD$1.14 billion.
7 May 2024