The government is planning to construct the Santo Domingo bypass linking the municipality of Haina in San Cristobal province with Boca Chica in Santo Domingo province. Speaking yesterday, Monday 6 May, Minister of Public Works Gonzalo Castillo announced that the roadway would begin in the Port of Haina and go to Km 23 of the Duarte Highway, following the eastern part of the Mella Highway and merging with Las Americas Expressway at Andres, Boca Chica, where the Multimodal Port is located. Tolls will be charged to vehicles, mainly expected to be cargo-laden trucks, in both directions.
Castillo said that vehicles traveling from the Cibao in the north headed eastwards would be able to bypass the city. The same will apply to vehicles coming from the south and heading to the east, which now have to travel through Santo Domingo, adding to traffic congestion.
Castillo said that the initial budget for the project was US$95 million, and that it would be implemented in two stages. Castillo pointed out that the beltway had been contracted for a period of 18 months in 2002 but work had never started. Nevertheless, he did not give a start date for the road.