A new policy to regulate the movement of heavy cargo vehicles through busy central corridors of the Dominican Republic’s National District is moving toward a final approval vote, with city leaders wrapping up months of preparation and stakeholder outreach to address chronic traffic congestion in the capital.
According to Carolina Mejía, mayor of the Dominican capital, the proposed regulation has already completed mandatory public consultation and will be put to a vote by the mayor’s office Chapter House in the coming days. “That this is a regulation that has already gone through public hearings, and now it just needs to be reviewed by the chamber for final approval, which could happen in the next few days,” Mejía confirmed in a public statement.
The regulatory framework was first tested back on June 26, when municipal authorities launched a pilot program designed to streamline road flow across the most congested areas of the district. The pilot established designated restricted access zones, set time-based entry limits, and introduced a mandatory permit system for heavy vehicles seeking entry to these areas. Under the current proposal, each cargo vehicle will pay a fee of 1,500 Dominican pesos for a permit, which will remain valid for a maximum of 30 calendar days.
The draft regulation was formally presented to stakeholders during a public hearing held at the Session Room of the Council of Aldermen for the jurisdiction, and has received backing from two leading national transport safety bodies: the General Directorate of Traffic and Land Transport Safety (Digesett) and the National Institute of Transit and Land Transport (Intrant).
The new rule maps out clear restricted zones across the National District, covering major high-traffic corridors. These include Paseo de los Reyes Católicos and Avenida República de Colombia to the northwest, Duarte Highway and Gregorio Luperón Avenue to the west, 30 de Mayo and George Washington Avenues to the south. The restricted zone also includes the full stretch of the Malecón de Santo Domingo between Gregorio Luperón Avenue and the Floating Bridge, as well as the Port of Santo Domingo and the residential and commercial sectors of Gazcue and Ciudad Nueva.
The regulation applies to two categories of heavy vehicles: truck-tractors (locally called cabezotes) with or without attached cargo trailers, regardless of axle count, and all other heavy vehicles with more than three axles. A full entry ban is in effect for these vehicles between 6:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. across most of the restricted zone, though smaller designated micro-zones will follow separate customized time restrictions. Already, enforcement officials report that non-compliance remains a persistent issue, with a number of heavy vehicles regularly violating existing provisional rules on the Malecón de Santo Domingo.
To ensure the final policy balances traffic improvement goals with the needs of affected industries, municipal authorities have prioritized outreach to stakeholders. Elizabeth Mateo, Secretary General of the municipal council, recently held closed-door meetings with business leaders to collect their input, address concerns, and work toward a consensus-based final version of the regulation ahead of the upcoming vote.