The construction of 21 new bridges on the causeway that connects the Jardines del Rey tourist destination with the mainland, through the application of post-tensioning technology (ideal for its resistance and duration of 50 or more years), and the pertinent maintenance in the face of the ravages of the sea, are results of which the Provincial Highway Center, patron of roads of national interest in Ciego de Ávila, can rejoice.

Its director, Ernesto Ríos Cruz, also speaks of an improvement compared to 2021, minimal, but an improvement at last, in the general condition of those roads (716.46 kilometers). Of these, 54 percent are evaluated as good, 35 percent remain in fair condition and 11 are in poor condition.

Prioritizing tourist spots was not the only reason why the rest of the provincial territory was not paved or a greater number of earth movements were not carried out, but rather that the investment plan of 56 million 110,000 pesos could barely be executed 53 percent, broadly due to the lack of fuel, specifically for the contracted forces.

In addition to these mishaps, Ríos Cruz warned of others: the entities attached to the Ministry of Construction continue without earthmoving brigades and El Vaquerito Military Construction Unit operates exclusively in the Jardines del Rey

Of the numbers of the Provincial Highway Center in Ciego de Ávila, 80 percent of the roads are in fair and poor condition. However, the problem goes beyond the numbers.

Breakages and repairs in the mills caused a very tense situation in the delivery of aggregates during the first quarter of 2019, Jorge Luis Suárez Taño, general director of the Construction and Assembly Company of Ciego de Ávila CONAVIL, stresses while looking over the report on compliance with the Construction Plan, closing the first semester.

The road maintenance plan - which implies paving, earth movement, rectification of the walk, etc. - was not enough either; on the contrary, adjustments had to be made in the course of 2022. Even though the initial figure of about 33 million increased to 73.2 million pesos, that amount was still insufficient for the demands, quantified over 130 million, Rios Cruz explains.

All of the above caused the use of alternative materials such as gravel, stones, granite in the patching; as well as ashes and other waste from sugar mills and the Ciro Redondo bioelectric plant to seal cracks.

Among the main concerns cited by the manager are the 800 meters of the highway from Ciego de Ávila to Júcaro that have been built since 2017 and are waiting for the movement of earth; as well as the 6-kilometer section of the Central Highway in the Ciego de Ávila-Camagüey division, whose fractures and slippage of the slabs require a general repair, beyond the 4,000 tons of asphalt that will try to mend the problem.

Prospects in 2023 will once again be limited by the budget approved for maintenance (85 million) which, although it is quantitatively higher than that of 2022, could pale in the face of the increase in prices of construction entities. The director of the Provincial Highway Center exemplifies this: "A ton of asphalt went from costing 2,100 to 2,500 pesos." This would mean that, if the approved 34,930 tons of asphalt were delivered to Ciego de Ávila, the 85 million pesos would not be enough for anything else. In fact, they wouldn't be enough.

Of the 3485.19 km of highways, streets and provincial roads, 74 percent are, in equal parts, in fair and poor condition.

The Provincial Highway Center in Ciego de Ávila defined among its greatest investment claims in 2023 to use 19.3 million pesos in actions related to paving and the breakwaters of the Cayo Coco causeway, and 23 million pesos on the road from Cayo Coco to Jigüey Bay and finish the East roundabout, beginning, in turn, of the South ring road.