reverted areas

Erosion a problem on causeway

LEVI CRUZ/LA PRENSA

problems: The government plans to spend $200,000 to fix the road on the Amador causeway, which has been steadily eroding.1100372

The road on the Amador causeway is eroding, and officials are scrambling to figure out what is causing it so that it can be corrected.

One cause could be the vibrations caused by heavily-loaded dump trucks that regularly use the road. Another could be waves whose course has been altered by the filling in of the nearby seabed.

The situation is so worrying that last Friday, Unidad Administradora de Bienes Revertidos Julio Ross called business leaders on Amador to his office for an emergency meeting on the issue.

There they were informed that the Ministerio de Economía y Finanzas (MEF) will pay for repairs to the road, which are estimated to cost upward of $200,000.

The work will be overseen by the Ministerio de Obras Públicas (MOP), but it will be doled out to a private contractor. The project will begin at Penca's restaurant and extend for about 120 meters.

When the work begins, it will mean that a portion of the road will be closed beginning at the “Plaza de las Banderas.”

At that meeting, Ross said that trucks using the road should carry lighter loads and travel at a lower speed. He said that he has asked transportation officials to periodically monitor truck traffic to ensure that the new regulations are being adhered to.

“The idea is not to cause any more damage,” he said.

Ross also indicated that Adalberto Aguero, an engineer who is a specialist in the field of ocean currents and waves, has been hired to determine if the filling of nearby seabeds has contributed to the problem.

One person not at the meeting was Jean Figali, whose company Grupo F is involved in several major projects on the causeway. His company is responsible for one of the three seabed projects in the area.