Without asphalt for more than 15 years, residents of the Dias Martins road suffer from mud in winter and dust in summer – ac24horas.com

In the middle of an urban area in the capital of Acre, close to an industrial area and at the back of one of the most traditional neighborhoods in Rio Branco, the University, Estrada Dias Martins, less than two kilometers long, has been abandoned by the public authorities for 15 years. Due to the precariousness of the road, similar to the bad months of the federal highway that connects the municipalities of Acre to the rest of Brazil, Dias Martins is already being referred to by residents of the region as “the new BR-364”.

According to the president of the residents’ association, Miquéias de Oliveira Vasconcelos, in winter the mud on Estrada Dias Martins leaves around 500 families practically isolated, even hampering access to rescue services. “We have elderly people, sick people, pregnant women. Here, if anyone needs help in winter, they will suffer, because it is impassable,” he said.

During the summer, the problem is dust. “My mother-in-law is sick, with pneumonia. Even now she is feeling ill. This dust invades our homes, disrupts our lives, makes illnesses worse”, says Eduardo Moura, who has lived on the side of Estrada Dias Martins for decades.

Images captured by ac24horas give an idea of ​​the difficulties faced by the region’s residents (see the video below). In most of Dias Martins, the floor is made of red clay, which turns into slippery mud at the slightest. Another section was paved by a private company, but potholes make traffic difficult.

Miquéias Oliveira said that the lack of infrastructure on Estrada Dias Martins hinders other projects for the evolution of the community: “We started a dialogue to create a bus line here for four neighborhoods that are not served by public transport. Everything was fine, but the company said it cannot run a bus in these road conditions, because it is unviable.”

According to the Acre Department of Roads and Highways, DERACRE, an investment of more than 8 million reais will be necessary to pave the Dias Martins road. The work is in the design phase and a parliamentary amendment of R$6.5 million has already been allocated for its completion. “In March, Deracre started the project, which will soon be tendered and approved to begin paving the Dias Martins road. The paving is expected to be completed in 2025,” said the spokesperson.

Senator Alan Rick, author of the amendment, regretted the length of the bureaucratic procedures, but said that Deracre president Sula Ximenes promised to speed up the procedures. “The amendment is for 2023. I have been following the progress and asking Deracre quickly, precisely to meet this desire of the community that suffers from winter to summer. Now, the bureaucratic steps need to be overcome so that Deracre can begin the works. Unfortunately, this takes time. Just yesterday (28), I was at Deracre and we discussed this execution. My greatest desire is that the work on our amendments be carried out as quickly as possible and, at this meeting, President Sula Ximenes and her team committed to doing so”, informed the senator.

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