Skylift over Ozama River is open
The Santo Domingo Teleferico was inaugurated on Tuesday, 22 May 2018 at 4 pm by President Danilo Medina who rode to the Gualey station for the ceremony.
The Teleferico stations are Gualey, Los Tres Brazos, Sabana Perdida and Charles de Gaulle. Over a path of five kilometers, the skylift connects the municipalities of Santo Domingo north and Santo Domingo East with the National District. The stations are located from the “Puente de la 17” in western Santo Domingo to Av. Charles de Gaule in eastern Santo Domingo.
The skylift will serve a population of 287,000 people when facilitating their commute from east to west Santo Domingo.
Speaking at the inaugural, the director of the project, Jose Miguel Gonzalez Cuadra said that it is one of the most modern systems in Latin America and will benefit a population of 287,000 persons that will see considerable reductions in cost and time of their commutes. Estimates are that the service will benefit 132,773 people that live in Gualey, 57,510 in Los Tres Brazos, and 97,149 in Sabana Perdida. 80% of the population in these communities rely on public transport to get around.
Barrios that are benefiting from the collective transport system are Villa Blanca, Salomé Ureña, La Nueva Barquita, Los Guandules, Espaillat, María Auxiliadora, Urbanización Moisés, Los Mina Norte, Brisa de los Palmares and La Victoria.
The system cost US$8.4 million per kilometer and each cabin has capacity for 10 persons. There is free wifi service in the four stations. The skylift is estimated to transport 16,553 persons per day in its first year.
A first month of free service at peak hours has been announced. The peak hours are 6-9am and 5 to 8pm. Afterward the month, the cable car will cost RD$20 per journey and will connect with the Santo Domingo metro for no additional charge.
The skylift was built by the Urbe office, but now will be operated by Opret, the Santo Domingo Metro office. The sky lift has connections to four stations located on Charles de Gaulle Avenue. It allows for connecting to Line 2A and 2B of the Santo Domingo Metro. From there, commuters can connect to Line 1.
Many Santo Domingo residents affected by the construction complained the builders have not met their promises.
Source: DR1, Listindiario
May 25, 2018
Category: DR News |