Five months after the original bridge over the Camú River collapsed, cutting off a critical transport artery connecting the Dominican Republic’s Santiago and Puerto Plata provinces, President Luis Abinader formally opened a replacement span in Puerto Plata on Friday. The early completion of the project restores full traffic access to the Gregorio Luperón Tourist Highway, a foundational route that underpins daily mobility, commercial exchange, productive activity, and tourism across the country’s Northern region.
Public Works and Communications Minister Eduardo Estrella emphasized the government’s urgent, coordinated response to the April 12 bridge collapse, which had severed one of the Northern corridor’s busiest road links. Work on the replacement structure launched immediately following the incident, with construction crews mobilized on-site by April 18, marking five full months of construction by the inauguration date.
“This corridor could not remain disconnected,” Estrella noted, crediting the rapid delivery of the project to collaborative efforts between the private construction firm, MOPC engineering and project management teams, and local community stakeholders, who all aligned to deliver the infrastructure in an accelerated timeline.
### A Lifeline for Northern Dominican Communities
The newly completed bridge directly addresses months of disruption that impacted local residents, commuting workers, agricultural producers, commercial vendors, and tourist visitors who relied on the interprovincial route. Its reopening revives an essential connection for daily personal travel, the movement of goods and services, and access to regional markets and popular coastal tourist destinations.
The span directly connects and benefits five local communities — Los Ciruelos, Montellano, Camú, Gran Parada, and Yásica — alongside all through travelers moving between the provinces of Puerto Plata and Santiago.
As a complementary component of the core bridge project, MOPC also completed a comprehensive river intervention, rechanneling and stabilizing 600 meters of the Camú River’s course. The work widened the river’s active flow width, improved water circulation during heavy rain events, and reduces long-term flood risk for adjacent communities and the new bridge infrastructure.
Engineering specifications for the new crossing place the bridge at 112.30 meters long and 11.20 meters wide, with two paved vehicle traffic lanes and two dedicated pedestrian sidewalks. The structure is built with 18 prefabricated post-tensioned concrete beams (the longest of which measure 45 meters) and 48 reinforced concrete piles driven up to 24 meters deep into the riverbed for long-term structural stability.
### Upcoming Infrastructure Investment to Expand Regional Connectivity
Estrella used Friday’s inauguration to outline the government’s ongoing infrastructure expansion plans across Puerto Plata, headlined by the new Amber Highway project that will create a second high-capacity link between Puerto Plata and Santiago. The new corridor is designed to further strengthen interprovincial connectivity, drive commercial growth, and boost productive and tourism activity across the entire Northern region.
He confirmed that contractors have received finalized project progress briefings, and pre-construction work is already underway across multiple work fronts. Expropriation surveys, geotechnical soil testing, and final detailed design work are moving forward to clear the way for full construction launch.
The minister also highlighted the breadth of ongoing government investment across Puerto Plata, spanning new bridge construction, road rehabilitation, and street upgrades for communities across the province. “This is what investment looks like, this is what development looks like, this is what opportunity looks like, this is what connectivity looks like — this is what governing for people looks like,” he said.
Across the province, multiple additional bridge projects are currently under construction, and contracts for eight more new bridge structures are in the process of being awarded. Major road upgrades including the El Estrecho-Ímbert Highway and Barrabás Highway are also progressing on schedule.
The opening of the Camú River bridge marks a key milestone in the government’s efforts to rebuild critical regional infrastructure, reconnecting isolated communities and restoring the flow of trade, production, and tourism between Santiago and Puerto Plata.
Puerto Plata Senator Ginette Bournigal expressed enthusiastic praise for the accelerated construction timeline, emphasizing that the early delivery would not have been possible without President Abinader’s direct commitment and support. Monsignor Julio César Corniel, bishop of the Puerto Plata diocese, led a blessing ceremony for the completed infrastructure ahead of the inauguration.
President Abinader was joined at the inauguration ceremony by a host of senior government and local authorities, including Presidency Minister José Ignacio Paliza, Puerto Plata Provincial Governor Claritza Rochette, Banco de Reservas President Leonardo Aguilera, IDAC Director Igor Rodríguez, and multiple national deputies representing the region.