Personnel from the federal Secretariat of Infrastructure, Communications and Transportation (SICT) are working on the Alfredo Mendizábal bridge at Kilometer 21 with heavy machinery, dumping and leveling earth to repair the road, which connects the city of Acapulco with the municipal landfill, located in Paso Texca, in the rural area.
The rains caused by Hurricane John, from September 23 to 27, caused the closure of this bridge located on the Acapulco-Mexico federal highway.
Neighbors in the area warned that the part of the bridge that was supposedly fixed after Hurricane Otis passed, on October 25, is the one that fell again with John, so now they must walk around to reach their destination.
Chiquis, Griselda, Martha and Virginia are older adults who agreed to see the famous adapted stairs on the bridge of the 21st. “We want to come and see so they don’t tell us!” said the residents of Kilometer 30, smiling, who explained that to run an errand in Acapulco on Monday morning, they had to cross the temporary passage.
To do so, they first had to go down a ravine of about 30 meters with the help of a rope, and then climb 37 iron steps on a structure built for the occasion about 10 meters high, until they reached the top, which is what is left standing of the bridge of the Veintiuno. In the background, the Sabana River still flows with intensity, however, mothers assure that it can be crossed on foot, “because it is low.”
On both sides of the stairs, people line up in an orderly fashion to go up and down.
“They had said that you could now cross the bridge, but on foot and by stairs,” complained another woman from Kilometer 30, who was in a hurry to get to Acapulco to visit relatives.
A few meters from the roadblock, collective taxis are making room to transport users, either to Acapulco, or to Treinta and Xaltianguis.
Young and adult people, bolillo and stuffing vendors, go up the stairs.
Meanwhile, public transportation drivers and residents of nearby neighborhoods are confident that the temporary crossing will be ready this week.
Other sections that are being repaired by SICT personnel, which were damaged by John, are the Chilpancingo-Iguala, at kilometer 183; Chilpancingo-Acapulco, at kilometers 11+900, 11+200 and 8+600; Acapulco Zihuatanejo, at kilometers 38 and 38+320; Chilpancingo-Acatlán de Osorio, at kilometers 25+550 and 169; and the Tlapaneco Bridge one; in addition to Las Cruces-Pinotepa Nacional, at kilometer 105+800.
Source: jornada
