Locals value new works in Transchaco
Both traders and settlers from the Semidei area of the Transchaco route comment on the improvements in traffic and the landscape itself, starting with the opening of the Semidei tunnel, the first of its kind in the country.
The Transchaco route, which starts at the Botanical Gardens and crosses the whole Paraguayan Chaco, is a quick way in and out of Asuncion that communicates the city with Mariano Roque Alonso and other surrounding cities. Over the years, the rapid growth of these cities has exponentially increased the number of vehicles that transit the route, making everyday traffic a daily challenge, especially at peak hours.
The Semidei tunnel, the first of its kind in the country, was inaugurated in March 2014 to provide a fast intersection that would expedite the passage of vehicles between the Transchaco Route and Semidei Avenue. "It was quite a problem to drive in these places at the time," recalls Ernando Espínola, a resident of the area, who believes that this type of road works improves not just traffic, but commerce and the community itself.
Petronela de Báez, a trader of the area, remembers that the Transchaco looked like an old road and that the improvements in the route, greatly improved the aspect of the zone. "Finally, we also have a tunnel in Paraguay she says. She adds that although the tunnel does not completely solve the problem of vehicular congestion, it alleviates traffic, and expects that the works planned by the government will continue to have a system of routes and optimal access roads.
For Agustín Alvarenga, a merchant, the improvement is given gradually and involves the citizens themselves. "We have to learn to use the roads, to respect the traffic signals," he says. He adds that the benefits are not only for the present settlers but also for their children. "As a father, hopefully we can continue to grow for the future of our children," he concluded that when a town grows with these kinds of works and improvements, so does the family and the community.
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