The report of the first inspection in the area of the landslides occurred on Monday night on the El Roque highway, in the municipality of La Guancha, reaffirms the measure adopted by the City Council from the outset to preserve safety, that the El Roque highway must continue to be closed to traffic.
“Due to the precarious stability of the slope, the reopening of the road is not recommended until clean-up actions are completed and controlled removal of numerous blocks and stones that still remain on the slope itself with precarious stability, demolition of visors and removal of the breakwater blocks that have been affected by the landslides”, is indicated in the document, carried out by a civil engineer, actions that have already been carried out by the City Council, which acted by way of urgency. In total, about 300 cubic meters of stone and debris equivalent to about 500 tons were removed on Tuesday.
Therefore, the municipal road will continue to be closed, a measure that has materialized with signs and specific elements, which indicate the prohibition of access, both to vehicles and people, as the area is not secured.
The document also suggests “doing a detailed inspection of the hillside in order to detect similar risks or others not detected in surrounding areas that advise the adoption of measures in the short or medium term, in order to guarantee road safety and physical integrity of the users of the road”, given that it is also very busy because the school bus of the CEIP Plus Ultra students passes through it and the new cemetery is accessed through it.
These data were offered yesterday by the mayor, Antonio Hernández, in the program El Zaperoco, which is broadcast on the municipal radio. During his intervention, the president confirmed that next week it is expected to have a more detailed report in which, in addition, a series of actions to be carried out on the road are contemplated.
Santo Domingo Beach
“It will take a long time to forget what happened on Monday. This fact shows us how fragile we are in our territory and our volcanic orography,” said the president. In this regard, he recalled a problem that has been dragging on in the municipality for decades, such as that of Santo Domingo beach, closed in 2010 due to the risk of landslides, and for which a solution is expected that never arrives to stabilize the taludes, a claim by Hernández since he became mayor in June 2015.
The mayor asked the neighbors for patience until he had all the necessary reports indicating how the City Council should act. “And that entails projects, which even through the urgent route will take time, in addition to financing and dialogue with the owners of the land, which are private,” he declared.
However, he promised that he will try to work with companies specialized in slope stabilization to find provisional solutions that allow the road to be opened, “always prioritizing the safety of people,” he stressed.
