Although the structural part of the Juan Pablo Duarte Bridge is “maintained in conditions of stability and security for its operation”, according to the authorities, in the internal part of the east header of the viaduct, the deterioration It is progressive with the collapse of the floor and walls in what were classrooms where courses in sewing, makeup, crafts, cabinetmaking and other disciplines were taught.
According to the National Office of Seismic Assessment and Vulnerability of Infrastructures and Buildings (Onesvie) and the Supervisory Commission of Public Infrastructures in the Face of Climate Change, the infrastructure does not offer danger, however, it is in bidding process for the contracting of diagnostic services for that and other bridges.
The columns remain in good condition as do most of the concrete beams, however, due to the more than 70 years of its construction, time has been responsible for revealing part of the linkage that in some places is rusty.
What were workshops
Until the year 2000 below the east header of the viaduct there was a work school where various courses were offered through the Santo Domingo Workshop School and the School Labor Juan Pablo Duarte with workshops communities, but they disappeared and one of the reasons was the bad conditions of the classrooms and the noise of vehicles passing by.
The place was abandoned and became a homeless shelter: “From here they took 60 sewing machine motors, they made holes in the sides of the walls, they went in and they stole everything. People became disenchanted and abandoned those projects,” said the owner of a business located in the area.
After they took everything of value, the antisocial They tore off the fences, doors and toilets and took them away to sell them, leaving what were classrooms converted into landfills and places to defecate.
Today, the spaces are garbage cans with beds where homeless people sleep and some of those that were classrooms are collapsing due to the erosion caused by a ravine, which when it rains a lot, the water reaches almost a meter inside the abandoned premises.
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In one of the premises, a hole has been created in the middle of a column that still retains its base, but if measures are not taken in time the waters could affect it. The western capital, in the National District, remains in good condition; a detachment operates underneath that is in charge of the security of the area.
“The Public works engineers They come here all the time to supervise, but we have to fill the floors again and rebuild the walls that are going to collapse on one side,” said Rafael Padilla, a resident near the Club Calero.
He explained that after two at dawn, when the trucks and others heavy vehicles They usually pass through the bridge, this feels more vibration of the bridge bearing.
In the year 2022 he Duarte bridge was subjected to a change of the wearing course, which included the change of the expansion jointsbut there was no follow-up to the structural part. On several occasions it was necessary to rework the part of the joints that deteriorated at once with the passage of vehicles.
