What on ‘paper’ was going to be a cozy and modern ‘carreteable’ in the Chorreras neighborhood of Don Juan became a dangerous passage, full of garbage, destroyed facades and sources of insecurity. This is the story:
In 2011, the Bucaramanga Mayor’s Office proposed the construction of a ‘carreteable’ that would supposedly transform the public space of the Chorreras de Don Juan neighborhood, at the height of streets 14 A and 14 B.
The project was known as “Extension of the alternate connection between the Center, San Miguel and the Royal Citadel of Minas.”
At that time it was said that the work would be the ideal complement for the northern access of the Alejandro Galvis Ramírez Viaduct. Well, neither the ‘carreteable’ nor the access to the Ninth were built!
13 years ago it was necessary to buy a total of 42 properties from the community of Chorreras de Don Juan. The space they occupied would be key to building the new highway; also to plant green areas, to adapt platforms with wide spaces and to build small squares.
Said execution, which was validated by Metropolitan Agreement # 013, would become a road alternative that aspired to complement, in the future, the road passage in that central area of Bucaramanga.
The work, which would have contributions from the Municipality, would have a cost of $12 billion, not including the value of the purchase of the aforementioned 42 properties that were required for execution.
Report the community
The transformation process remained ‘we will see’. Today, there are only ruins of a project that never materialized. What would be the improvement of public space, after a renovation design in the Chorreras de Don Juan sector, “is an area of fear.”
According to Fernando Jaimes Meza, president of the Community Action Board of the aforementioned neighborhood, “the demolished houses have become hotbeds of drug addiction, pollution and insecurity. “All of this is affecting our neighborhood.”
“Those ruins are now dens of thieves and hallucinogenic drug users; They are also improvised dormitories for homeless residents,” she added.
“This is a deadly step, since several assaults and even attacks against passers-by have been recorded there,” added the civic leader.
What does the Metropolitan Area respond?
Diana Constanza Muñoz Ayala, administrative and financial deputy director of the Bucaramanga Metropolitan Area, responded that, “on May 22, officials and contractors carried out a technical visit to verify the status of the properties.”
According to her, “the management team is working to find the necessary resources to carry out the maintenance works on the site.”
He said that, “taking into account that the land is owned by the Metropolitan Area and that it is part of an inter-administrative agreement, signed with the Municipality of Bucaramanga, efforts are being joined to carry out the aforementioned extension project.”
Meanwhile, neighbors report that they are still adrift, in the middle of streets that are conducive spaces for insecurity to ‘breathe’.
