LA VEGA. – The bridge that collapsed last Monday in Pontón, in this town, will be rebuilt based on the results of studies that found anomalies in the concrete. The Ministry of Public Works and Communications (MOPC) said it will install 16 beams in the new structure and projects that the work will be completed in two months.
“This bridge will be rebuilt. The relevant studies have already been carried out, and of the approximately 16 beams that this structure, consisting of two bridges plus an extension, will have, we already have nine built,” declared Roberto Herrera, Vice Minister of Supervision and Inspection of Public Works, yesterday.
Yesterday the collapsed structure was demolished using heavy machinery, and the vice minister announced upon visiting the site that work on the new bridge providing access to the city of La Vega from the Duarte Highway will begin immediately.
He explained that the studies carried out revealed anomalies in the concrete and that the structure must be replaced to continue complying with the protocol that the technicians and the companies hired for those purposes have said.
“As we explained to the community three months ago, we asked for their understanding that we had to close the road. Today, we are pleased to announce that since then, work has been underway outside of here in other workshops on the beams that will make up this structure,” he noted.
Herrera said that the structure was 27 years old and showed advanced deterioration, so the MOPC immediately ordered its closure to vehicular traffic due to the danger the structure presented.
He explained that Public Works knew the structure could collapse, since it had not received the required maintenance for more than 20 years.
“It is good to inform the country, and it is our responsibility to address these things that can happen when 20, 30 or 40 years pass, as happens with many bridges and other structures, and the authorities in charge do not fulfill their responsibilities,” he added.
The deputy minister asked the public for understanding, “since the country is built by everyone, and while the authorities are here to serve and to ensure that things flow as they should, citizens, with their attitude and way of driving, can contribute to having a more peaceful country with fewer accidents.”.
Junior Miguel Taveras, director of Public Works in La Vega, asked the public for patience, as the work being done on the Pontón bridge is to improve the collapsed structure.
Vice Minister Herrera was accompanied by the Director of Public Works in La Vega, Junior Miguel Taveras; the regional director Alexis Sosa; the contractor Soto Bermúdez, among others.
