Engineer Diandino Pena, director of the Santo Domingo metro construction, announced that tunneling works for the underground sections of the metro would start in ten days. The first excavations will start between Maximo Gomez and 27 de Febrero Avenues, passing under the National Theater front garden area. A MK3 roadheader tunneling machine was received from the US for the work. The tunnel will be dug 12 meters below ground. Pena told the press that the digging would not disrupt the traffic.