He President Luis Abinader will inaugurate today the complex of works that make up the road solution in the February 27 Extension with Isabel Aguiar (Paint), which will allow the fluid movement of more than 70,000 vehicles that converge daily in the area from the southern region and Santo Domingo Oeste.
It is about the elimination of the road junction that for decades has affected to citizens that enter or leave the National District, generating long plugs throughout the area.
It’s a conceived project in it 2016 by the then Minister of Public Works, Gonzalo Castillobut modified by the administration of Deligne Ascencion.
The original project contemplated two tunnels from east to west and from west to east on both sides of the Flag Square and a overpass at Isabel Aguiar.
However, what is delivered today includes a comprehensive solutionwhose initial cost exceeded 80 million dollars(more than four billion pesos) from the State contract with the company Dominican Airports 21st Century (Aerodom).
A historical problem
With the work the knot that was formed at the convergent point between the Isabel Aguiar Avenue and Extension February 27 which generated long lines on main avenues such as 27, Luperón, Sarasota, Rómulo Betancourt and others.
Part of the environment was desacralized with the business retreatthe relocation of the bus terminal of the southern regionthe elimination of a market that remained on H Street for years and the removal of several commercial establishments, which allowed improve and expand sidewalks and recover spaces for landscaping.
To the road intervention is added the component of the construction of the station 3 of the cable car (line 3) that will connect the station Maria Montez of the Santo Domingo Metro with the municipal district of Quita Sueño, in Haina.
Start of the jobs
The jobs of road solution in the place, popularly known as Paintthey started in April 2024 and were in charge of Ministry of Public Works. The work was carried out by the company JM, with the supervision of Tecnoamérica, contractors of the Ministry of Public Works.
They also participated Brazilian technicians and Dominicans with extensive knowledge in this type of intervention, a requirement of the then Minister Ascención to guarantee the quality of the work and that it adjusted to the international standards.
It included, in addition to the road issue, the construction of a system for the storm drainage with the construction of a lagoon at the bottom of the avenue Extension February 27 that will allow a gradual discharge of the waters towards the Guajimía canyonthat in that part, the Santo Domingo Aqueduct and Sewer Corporation (Caasd) installed pipes and a street was created above what was the ravine.
The lagoon It is a work of modern engineering with the capacity to receive thousands of gallons of rainwater gradually and then deposit it in the ravine. In this way, the floods of which families living around the area were victims are avoided. Guajimía canyon.
As a complementary work for a better vehicular circulationa four lane tunnel (two in both directions) in the Luperon Avenue, from north to south, with an extension 1.2 kilometerswhose jobs They are scheduled to conclude within a year. Each lane will have a width of 3.65 meters and it is planned to rehabilitate marginal roads, drainage systems, road signs and complementary works such as defense barriers.
Pedestrians are missing
One of the deficiencies of the project is the lack of pedestrians on the intervened party. From today the vehicular circulation It would be lighter and the pedestrians They do not have safe spaces to cross Prolongación 27 de Febrero avenue.
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Even with the current congestion of the work that was being done until yesterday, including work such as construction of sections of sidewalks, some pedestrians faced difficulties crossing the road, so it is expected that the situation will be worse when the system becomes operational.
He Ministry of Public Works has not reported whether the project contemplates secure solutions for the pedestrians.
The solution included the construction of a trench-type overpass with an extension of 480 meters. It has three lanes to enter the city from the 6 de Noviembre highway and the 27 de Febrero Prolongación, (west-east). One lane on a metal bridge from 6 de Noviembre and two others that connect from Extension 27.
In the opposite direction (east-west) there are two express lanes, but at the exit of the trench they become five: two that connect with the 27 and three that join the 6 de Noviembre highway.
From the 27 de Febrero Extension towards Luperón, two express lanes that at the entrance of the overpass join the 6 de Noviembre lane. Six lanes of local traffic are maintained, three in both directions, east-west, west-east.
One question we have is whether they maintain two traffic lights at the roundabout that makes up the Plaza de la Bandera in both directions. Drivers entering the city from the 6 de Noviembre highway or the 27 de Febrero Prolongación would encounter both traffic lights and traffic would slow down, causing traffic jams.
A source linked to the project informed Diario Libre that when the north-south Luperón tunnel is completed, scheduled for next year, those traffic lights will be removed because the idea is that from Pintura there will be no traffic lights to Punta Cana or any other province in the eastern and southern regions.
