In commune 3 Manrique, east center of Medellín, a collapse on the roads that connect the La Cruz and La Honda neighborhoods prevents the passage of the metro and Cootracovi buses, which, due to the risk of the road, choose to take passengers to UVA, where motorcycle taxi drivers make a killing taking passengers up these steep stretches. The affected residents ask for urgent attention from the Mayor’s Office to once again patch the road and normalize the passage of buses.
In the middle of a road that presents constant landslides due to the presence of heavy rains and failures in the water channeling, motorcycle taxi drivers who provide transportation services on the narrow streets face risks such as mud on the pavement and debris from ACPM that leaves the road oily.
Andrés Montoya Velásquez, motorcycle taxi service driver, said that on Tuesdays and Fridays the climb is more difficult because the garbage truck passes during rush hour, between 5 and 6 in the afternoon, which generates traffic for up to an hour. This occurs in the midst of a panorama that, Montoya affirms, has become more complicated over the years.
“It is a situation that has been occurring for five years, but with the increase in buses and dump trucks through the nearby warehouses, the road has been damaged,” says Montoya. He points out that the bus drivers have to call each other by phone when boarding, so as not to find themselves on the hill and be able to give way in case someone is boarding.
This landslide took place in La Honda, an alternative route used by the inhabitants of the sector to avoid the La Cruz road, which has had rocky material on the road for two months. The deterioration of its pavement with considerable cracks has prevented the passage of public transportation and the garbage truck.
For their part, the inhabitants of the sector claim to feel in suspense due to the constant presence of rain and with it, the increased probability of the collapse of the road above their homes.
