Corrosion and wear: Structural deterioration under the Duarte bridge is a concern

Santo Domingo.- Corrosion and structural wear under the Duarte bridge, the important route that connects the National District with Santo Domingo East, generates concern and raises alarms in the face of the evident lack of maintenance. During a tour conducted by De Último Minuto, the presence of exposed rusty rods, detachments in the building, as well as water leaks, constant dripping and high levels of humidity were observed in a section of the structure.

Read more: Yovanny Díaz: "Construction of Duarte bridge was a nonsense"

In that context, various sectors point to the responsibility of the Ministry of Public Works to guarantee preventive and timely maintenance, in order to prevent the passage of time from causing the progressive deterioration and eventual collapse of this and other road infrastructures in the country. In statements to a media outlet, Rafael Osiris de León, president of the Commission for the Supervision of Public Infrastructure in the face of Climate Change, created after the collapse of a wall on the slope of 27 de Febrero Avenue, assured that there is no danger of collapse of the Juan Pablo Duarte bridge; however, he acknowledged the need to intervene in the structure without waiting for the arrival of heavy rains. According to the data, the Public Infrastructure Supervision Commission will add the topic of the bridge to the agenda of its next meeting in order to prepare a request report to the Ministry of Public Works for intervention in this project.

About the Duarte Bridge

The Juan Pablo Duarte bridge was inaugurated on December 17, 1955, during the dictatorship of Rafael Leónidas Trujillo, as part of the set of works developed on the occasion of the Fair of Peace and Brotherhood of the Free World, one of the main events promoted by the regime at that time. The construction of this infrastructure responded to the need to re-establish the road connection between both banks of the Ozama River, after Hurricane San Zenón destroyed the old Ulises Heureaux bridge in 1930, interrupting for years the traffic between Santo Domingo and the eastern zone of the country. It is recalled that the Ministry of Public Works and Communications (MOPC) in September and October 2025, closed vehicular traffic in various overpasses and bridges of Greater Santo Domingo, because institution brigades will be carrying out maintenance work. The works included general cleaning of the environment, collection of solid waste, sweeping and collection of aggregates, weed control, drainage cleaning, among others. However, the last major maintenance reported on the Juan Pablo Duarte Bridge was a 60-day intervention in July 2022 to repair joints and asphalt.