Why does the street need improvements? Well, during the rainy season the street becomes a muddy mess. With the water run off from the rain, erosion gets so bad that the street becomes barely passable when a deep ditch is carved down the street each summer. The mud and whatever material the road is constructed with that week of the summer flows down the street to the intersection and then becomes a source of slurpy muddiness for months and then dust for months after.
Mud is only the beginning of the problems. |
We arrived from the airport and found the street blocked off at the top and bottom, large trucks at work and no cars parked anywhere. So strange since there are always cars and trucks using Calle Libertad to get to where they need to go. It was quiet other than the dump trucks and other machines leveling and compacting the street from adding road base.
A day or so after our arrival we saw a gathering of neighbors speaking with some of the road crew. We could see guys were hastily putting away tables, chairs, plants and any other items that may be located on the front porch or stoops of the homes up the street. Apparently they were being torn down to make way for part of the improvements to the street. Our only guess is that over time these personal spaces encroached into the street right of way and were being removed. These places were extensions of the local neighbor's homes. A place where they sat and socialized, where they began and ended the day and escaped the hotter interiors of their concrete block homes.
Sidewalks being removed next to Alchemista. |
The front steps of our neighbor's house. |
Early morning demolition of the church steps next door. |
This is what can happen when parking is not considered when improving the street. |
Today, they even started taking out trees that have been part of the street as long as anyone can remember. This one actually had a root system that likes to grow and cause problems for sidewalks, streets, plumbing and foundations. A crew arrived with chainsaws in the late morning and by afternoon the tree was no more and the houses across the street were bathed in mid-day summer sunlight for the first time in decades I would guess.
A few more months of this but at the end we will have a brand new house and a brand new street all at the same time. It will, unfortunately, delay some final work on the house but we will get there and Calle Libertad will look as good as it ever has. The question will be "Will Calle Libertad "work" as well as it ever has?".
A few more months of this but at the end we will have a brand new house and a brand new street all at the same time. It will, unfortunately, delay some final work on the house but we will get there and Calle Libertad will look as good as it ever has. The question will be "Will Calle Libertad "work" as well as it ever has?".
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