El Caribe provides an update today on the progress being made to restore the La Romana to Higuey landlink. Earlier this week, the Chavon Dam overflowed, causing the collapse of the bridge. Coincidentally, however, Construcciones y Transporte Pagan had containers of prefabricated bridges in Customs, which could be used in areas damaged by natural disasters, such as occurred with the passing of Jeanne. The problem was that Customs was charging a RD$33-million tax on the bridges. Given the emergency situation, the department received an order from the Executive Branch to exempt the bridges from the tax so they could be put to use immediately. Engineer Milton Gomez of the Public Works Ministry said that water systems are being installed to prepare for the bridge’s placement. He also reported that 130 men are at work to install a landlink between Higuey and El Seibo, also damaged by the rushing waters of the Duey River. Engineer Ruben Pagan of the private company that will put in the bridges said that these were financed by funding contracted from England during the Mejia government. He said two such structures have already been installed over the Boba (Nagua) and Yuna rivers.
He was not able to give a cost for the bridges, saying that this would be set after the installation.
As reported in El Caribe, the bridges would be installed over a two-month period. Tourism Minister Felix Jimenez told the Listin Diario that the Chavon crossing would be operational by Saturday, 25 September.