Liliana Cardona Marín
On Friday afternoon, the pedestrian bridge that crosses the wetland and connects the Bombay 1 and Bombay 3 neighborhoods completely fell down. The yellow structure made of iron is in optimal conditions and for this reason the Secretary of Infrastructure of Dosquebradas, Jimmy Riascos, told the workers to remove it from the site yesterday morning and keep it, to prevent it from being looted while the engineers they evaluate the task to be carried out, since when the fall occurred it was almost night.
“On Monday we are going to evaluate the cause of this situation, to try to put it back into service, I already sent a professional at the end of the afternoon and he told me that some rainwater undermined the foundation, that was a quick observation and that is why we must return, because first you have to resolve the issue of water management”, responded Secretary Riascos.
A while ago they share the vehicular bridge
A few meters away from where the fallen bridge was located, there is a vehicular bridge with a single carriageway that is very narrow and has railings that are somewhat deformed. Some 500 people from the surrounding areas usually pass through there daily, according to the leaders, along with the Route 6 feeder and the orange Route 33 bus, motorcars, cars and motorcycles of all kinds.
There is no other way, although it is clearly a risk, it is mostly mothers with children holding hands and grandparents who make this transit. Martha Yanet Vanegas is the president of Bombay 1 and comments that “In the first place, more than a year ago, we sent petition rights to the Diger, they told us that they had no budget, that we had to wait for them to collaborate with us and that it was wrong to tell them to the community so they wouldn’t throw rubble there, which is a vile lie, because what happened to that was a lack of maintenance.”
The residents affected by this fall all they want is for the bridge to be returned and installed in a safer area.The mess and the possible solution
The neighbors explain that this place is an obligatory step for the students and parents of the Bombay, Los Andes, Juan Manuel González, Pablo Sexto schools, the schools of San Pedro and San Pablo, Santa Teresita and now they have to go through the vehicle ‘wherever it goes’. That is why they request a solution as soon as possible, since there is no other similar point through which they can cross from one side to the other.
Uber Ospina, mayor of Comuna 10, expressed: “I was speaking with the engineer Motta, who was recovering this wetland for us and explained that a tank must be built to collect the water that the wetland brings and deposit it below, because when the land it overflows because of the winter, it eats up until it reaches the bridge”.
Héctor Quintero, vice president of the Board, explains: “The flow that passes through there is small, because it is wastewater that was channeled, that is, they put tubes in it, to be able to build the El Marfil urbanization, it crosses the avenue that is under construction and it will give to the Bombay 3 Community Action booth, waters that increase when it rains very hard”.
What do you think of the bridge collapse?
Otoniel Ramírez – inhabitant
“I have been a resident here for 22 years, they built the pedestrian bridge 15 years ago, then the vehicular bridge 10 years ago. We had not used the bridge for a year. It is very necessary, because you can be run over by any car there.”
Martha Yanet Vanegas – President of the Bombay 1 Board
“They waited for one of these things to happen and they already took us away, it was the bridge, and who knows what they are going to do with it.”
Cipher
7,000 people from the three neighborhoods use these bridges.
Given
Under the vehicular bridge, the presence of two people has been perceived for days, which generates unrest in the community and for this reason the Secretary of Government was alerted.