NewsWhore
02-28-2008, 03:20 PM
President Leonel Fernandez rode the Santo Domingo Metro during celebrations for the country's 164th independence day. Defiant arguments and doubts about the Metro took a back seat as many Dominicans marveled at the hi-tech mass transit system. Hoy reports that many Dominicans took to the streets and even the rooftops to watch the Metro go by. As part of the Independence Day ceremonies, President Leonel Fernandez made a speech at the National Assembly and then walked across from Congress to board the Metro at the "Centro de los Heroes" train station. In his 2007 address, he had promised to ride the metro for Independence Day 2008. All along the 14-kilometer ride (14 minutes) to Villa Mella, President Fernandez acted as honorary Metro driver. Also on board were First Lady Margarita Cedeno, Vice President Rafael Alburquerque, his wife Martha Alburquerque, project director engineer Diandino Pena and Cardinal Nicolas de Jesus Lopez Rodriguez, who earlier had blessed the metro. The metro was later opened up for a free ride to the public from 7-8:25pm. Those wanting to be among the first to ride were so many, that a stampede caused one lady to break a leg, as reported in El Caribe.
Although celebratory in nature, many Dominicans seemed to have temporarily forgotten that the metro project has been mired in controversy. Geologists have argued that sections of the ground on which the Metro was built are not strong enough to support it while others claimed that the proper geological studies were never completed before the project began construction. Some have argued against the need for a multi-million dollar Metro project while other priority issues are not addressed. The Metro is speculated to have cost RD$25 billion to date, and its total monthly budget is larger than the combined budgets for 10 public ministries. For video and commentary on the first Metro ride please click here: www.dr1.com/forums/living/72317-metro-1st-ride-3.html#post612340 (http://www.dr1.com/forums/living/72317-metro-1st-ride-3.html#post612340)
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Although celebratory in nature, many Dominicans seemed to have temporarily forgotten that the metro project has been mired in controversy. Geologists have argued that sections of the ground on which the Metro was built are not strong enough to support it while others claimed that the proper geological studies were never completed before the project began construction. Some have argued against the need for a multi-million dollar Metro project while other priority issues are not addressed. The Metro is speculated to have cost RD$25 billion to date, and its total monthly budget is larger than the combined budgets for 10 public ministries. For video and commentary on the first Metro ride please click here: www.dr1.com/forums/living/72317-metro-1st-ride-3.html#post612340 (http://www.dr1.com/forums/living/72317-metro-1st-ride-3.html#post612340)
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#1)