The Ministry of Transport and Public Works signed a second contract with the public company Asfaltar to carry out some specific maintenance works on the Cuenca-Molleturo-El Empalme highway. This is an artery with the main connection between Azuay and Guayas, but due to the weather, it is a constant scene of landslides, one of which caused the death of a driver in the last month.
Minister Marcelo Cabrera, who signed this agreement within the framework of the celebrations for the 201 years of Cuenca’s independence, said that the interventions include works between kilometers 66 and 101. He also mentioned that in the coming days another contract will be made to improve the situation at kilometer 49, the most critical of all.
One person was injured after a new accident on the Cuenca-Molleturo-El Empalme road
The Ministry is analyzing the construction of a “tunnel of 900 meters, a tunnel of 500 meters or the stabilization of the area.” The approximate amount will be $ 6’000,000. To achieve this, some final steps are being taken, which implies signing an agreement with the Parish Government of Molleturo to provide five cans to store the 250,000 cubic meters of material that will be released from there.
Another announcement made by Cabrera is that in 2022 the Cuenca-Girón-Pasaje highway and the Descanso-Gualaceo-Paute highway will be concessioned. He did not anticipate further details, but from his words it was understood that this work will be entrusted to the Prefecture of Azuay, but not to a private entity.
But until this is done, circulation on this road is restricted. Between 5:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. the next day, everything closes, leaving the Zhud-Cochancay-El Triunfo route as the only alternative to travel to the coast from Cuenca.
The celebration for the 201 years of independence of Cuenca began early with official acts. First a mass was celebrated and then floral offerings were placed, where a particular situation occurred, which had not been seen in recent years. There were two ceremonies with similar characteristics: one by the local and national authorities, and then another in which the Vice President of the Republic participated.
Concern in the tourist and industrial sector due to frequent problems on the Cuenca-Molleturo road
Early in the morning, the meeting was at the Cathedral of the Immaculate, where the also traditional Thanksgiving Mass was held. The readings were given by municipal authorities and employees, while the homily was led by the archbishop of the city, Marcos Pérez.
When the vice president was asked why the offering was divided into two parts, he replied that it was a ceremony organized by the Armed Forces and that he was only “as a guest.” (I)
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