SANTIAGO.- Given the apparent vulnerability of Las Carreras Avenue here, one of the busiest roads in the Heart City, the Ministry of Public Works and Communications (MOPC) is preparing to conduct a survey of the entire road to determine potential weak points and proceed to address them.
“We, as a ministry, have now conducted an assessment of the situation and what we are going to do is a complete evaluation of the avenue and all the pipes, because these pipes are many years old and it is possible that there are other points that need to be addressed,” declared Alexis Sosa, regional director of Public Works in Santiago, yesterday.
This is the second incident in just two weeks on Las Carreras Avenue. The first occurred on Tuesday, August 16, when a retaining wall protecting an apartment and shopping center complex collapsed amid torrential rains in the Cibao region.
Sosa commented that the issue of rainwater on the aforementioned avenue, as throughout the country, resulted in damage to physical structures, such as the sinkhole, and the collapse of the wall of a dry bridge on that same road.
“We are already intervening, we are working. The City Hall brigade is working together with us; Coraasan is also checking the pipes under its jurisdiction, in case any of them are damaged,” Sosa explained.
He explained that they will continue working throughout the weekend and expect to finish next week.
Intervention
After checking the pipes and correcting the leak, the filling will begin, for which, the technician explained, they are digging and proceeding to remove all the unusable material from the sinkhole.
“The pipe will be repaired, it will be filled in, and then we will pave it,” he said.
To facilitate the movement of the enormous number of vehicles that travel along the road every day, the two-lane uphill section was enabled.
Regarding the rains and the overall condition of the structures, he indicated that they will order a comprehensive assessment.
Deep problem
The hole is quite deep, and has complicated the regular flow of vehicles on this road.
The incident occurred after a heavy truck drove over the road. The ground in that area had become saturated due to recent rains. As the vehicle passed, the surface collapsed, creating a sinkhole in one of the avenue's lanes.
However, yesterday morning, the authorities took precautionary measures and diverted drivers.
Also present at the scene are several members of the General Directorate of Traffic Safety and Land Transportation (Digesett), led by its regional director for the north, Colonel Juan Bautista Jiménez, who explained that they have had to reinforce the area's teams with more officers to help facilitate traffic flow. Other problems, such as the landslide two weeks ago caused by the rains, have also hampered traffic on this busy road.
Meanwhile, residents of the area explained that this situation has been occurring for several years, as a result of problems with rainfall and groundwater.
They have also expressed their fear that one of these incidents could happen again and cause physical harm to a citizen.
