The Ministry of Public Works indicated that alternate routes will be identified by information and detour signs installed before the points where drivers will have to change direction
SANTO DOMINGO.- As part of the expansion work being carried out by the Government to alleviate traffic on the Duarte Highway, one of the main highways in the Dominican Republic, starting this Monday, November 2nd, there will be detours in two sections located in La Vega.
The Ministry of Public Works and Communications (MOPC), in announcing the measure yesterday, Sunday, explained that the sections will be under construction as part of the work being carried out on the Jarabacoa and Jeremías distributor bridges in the aforementioned district.
The suspension
The Public Works notice specifies that at the Jarabacoa interchange, traffic in the Santiago-Santo Domingo direction on the Duarte highway will be suspended in the section under construction, noting that drivers should use the right-hand ramp of the interchange, which is designated for that direction.
At the Jeremías interchange in La Vega, traffic will be closed in the Santo Domingo-Santiago direction from the Duarte Highway, the statement adds, noting that the ramp on the right side will also remain open to allow vehicular traffic.
Alternate routes will be signposted
The Ministry of Public Works indicated that the alternate routes will be identified by information and detour signs installed before the points where drivers will have to change direction.
Given the circumstances, the entity will establish a temporary maximum speed of 50 kilometers per hour, with preventive signage placed approximately one kilometer before each detour.
The General Directorate of Traffic Safety and Land Transportation (Digesett), the National Institute of Transit and Land Transportation (Intrant) and the Military and Police Commission (Comipol), are the institutions that will offer assistance to vehicular and pedestrian traffic in the intervened areas.
What is being done on the Duarte Highway?
The Duarte Highway was inaugurated in 1922 and is one of the busiest roads in the Dominican Republic, connecting Santo Domingo with the North and Northwest of the country and one of the most affected by traffic accidents.
The details of the transformation work were announced in 2020 by the then minister of the entity, Deligne Ascensión Burgos, who indicated that the aim is to convert it into an expressway, with controlled access and grade separations, with the construction of marginal roads with a 3.65-meter lane and a 2.40-meter promenade, in addition to the construction of 25 new U-turns, the elimination of 166 illegal crossings and the expansion to four lanes in each direction of traffic on the bridge at kilometer 9 on Luperón Avenue.
Impactful works include the new toll plaza built on the highway and the widening of lanes at km 9.
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