BRIEFS: Transportation

Drill ties up traffic for 2 hours

A drill simulating a gas spill blocked traffic on Vía Boyd Roosevelt for about two hours yesterday, causing a backlog of vehicles that stretched for more than 6 miles.

Motorists had to wait for more than two hours in some cases for the simulation to be completed. The road is one of the primary routes between Panama City and Colón.

The simulation involved personnel from the Sistema Nacional de Protección Civil (Sinaproc), the Autoridad Nacional del Ambiente (Anam), Ocean Pollution Control (OPC) and area fire departments.

It involved the evacuation of 700 students from Escuela Elisa de Garrido in Buena Vista.

Sinaproc official Omar Smith said he understood the frustration of motorists, but defended the drill as being essential to help agencies react to emergencies.

That was of little consolation to truck driver Carlos Perez.

“If I had known about this, I would have scheduled my trip earlier in the day,” he said.

An official with the Autoridad de Tránsito Transporte Terrestre, who asked not to be identified, said that the drill lacked adequate preparation that could have avoided the massive traffic jam.