Duquesa landfill access roads: Four years on, only 3km rebuilt despite 500 million peso investment

Four years after the Dominican government pledged 500 million pesos to rebuild access roads to the Duquesa landfill, progress remains critically slow. Only three of the five kilometers on the Los Casabes stretch have been reconstructed, featuring asphalt and sidewalks. However, sources indicate a further pavement layer is needed to withstand constant truck traffic.

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still lacks another layer of pavement to prevent deterioration with the constant passage of trucks.

The northern access road, a 1.2-kilometer "link road," has been fully operational for over a year and is the primary route for trucks. Despite this, the 6.6-kilometer section from Duquesa's west entrance to Avenida Presidente Antonio Guzmán Fernández is in dire condition, riddled with puddles, leachate, mud, and deep potholes.

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the 9.6 kilometers would be ready before the end of the year, as well as all internal access roads of the landfill.

Work on this deteriorated section, which began four years ago, is reportedly stalled awaiting necessary pipes. An official source suggested the entire 9.6 kilometers of roads and internal landfill access points would be finished by year-end, a stark contrast to the initial five-to-six-month completion target set in July 2022 by the then-Minister of Public Works, Deligne Ascención. The slow pace leaves the critical infrastructure in a state of disrepair, impacting waste management operations.

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the works would not stop and estimated that in five or six months a definitive solution for access to the landfill would be ready.