SANTO DOMINGO.- The Commission for the Supervision of Public Infrastructure in the Face of Climate Change visited the collapsed wall of the overpass at the intersection of Máximo Gómez Avenue and 27 de Febrero Street to review the progress made by the contractors and to ensure that the work carried out accurately reflects the design.
Osiris de León, president of the aforementioned Commission, stated that what society requires is that the structure be able to respond adequately to torrential rains, similar to or worse than the 450 millimeters that fell on November 18 of last year, and to consider the occurrence of a seismic event of the same magnitude as the one that occurred in Matancita in 1946.
“We want Dominican society to regain confidence in overpasses, but for that to happen, the institutions, the Commission, and the professionals all need to agree that the final solution is the one the nation expects, so that every citizen, when passing through the tunnels, regardless of whether it is raining torrentially, can say, ‘This won’t fail,’ as it did in 1999 and 2023,” De Leon stated.
In another matter, he emphasized that the Commission has been carrying out specific work to strengthen the action plan, citing as an examplethe working meeting with the Minister of Public Works and Communications (MOPC); Deligne Ascensión Burgos and with representatives of the State Legislature of the city of New York, United States, headed by the congressman of Dominican origin, Adriano Espaillat and Ms. Yudelka Tapia, assemblywoman of The Bronx.
He said that the commission of legislators made available to the Dominican State technical and scientific advisory services to successfully address the problem of vulnerability in infrastructure at the national level.
He praised the participation and integration of the Dominican College of Engineers, Architects and Surveyors (CODIA), the Pontifical Catholic University Madre y Maestra (PCMM); the Santo Domingo Technological Institute (INTEC); the Autonomous University of Santo Domingo (UASD); the Pedro Henríquez Ureña National University (UNPHU), the Ministry of Public Works and Communications (MOPC), the National Office of Seismic Evaluation and Vulnerability of Infrastructure and Buildings (Onesvie), as well as the Dominican Association of Housing Builders and Promoters (Acoprovi) and the Dominican Chamber of Construction (Cadocon).
He stated that the tour was carried out on Thursday, January 25, in the morning under the coordination of engineer Leonardo Reyes Madera, executive director and general director of the National Office of Seismic Evaluation and Vulnerability of Infrastructure and Buildings (Onesvie); and the members of the Commission participated: Néstor Julio Matos, general director of regulations and systems of the Ministry of Public Works and Communications (MOPC); Romer Pérez, from the bridge maintenance directorate of the MOPC; Justina Chávez, road infrastructure advisor of the MOPC; Ashley Morales, from the engineering department of PUCMM.
Also: Luis Abbott, from the engineering faculty of the Technological Institute of Santo Domingo (INTEC); Juan Villar Gonzalez; president of the Dominican College of Engineers, Architects and Surveyors (CODIA); Omar Segura Alcántara, dean of the engineering school of the Autonomous University of Santo Domingo (UASD); William Read Espaillat and César Mercedes, professor of the engineering faculty of science and technology and director of the engineering school of the National University Pedro Henríquez Ureña (UNPHU) and Juan Soler Tolentino, from (CODIA).
