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From the flag operators standing in the hot sun to the laborers and machine operators, everyone is working hard to meet the schedule of finishing the road within the calculated 8 month time frame.

Taxi drivers are feeling the pinch. The slower journey through the traffic works results in less trips per working day on the only hard surface road in and out of town. Fares for a colectivo did go up a bit just before Semana Santa. Its now 35 cords (a couple of beers) each to Rivas.

One time recently it took an hour and twenty minutes. I asked a few drivers how many trips they could do in a working day. Most told me that 4 trips a day would be average, sometimes 5. By the time they have waited around for a fare going back, or 4 people in the case of a collective, they probably couldn’t do many more than that. On four trips a day, all they take in is 560 cords, 30 dollars. By the time you take off expenses for oil & gas, repairs, licensing and then factor in that an average taxi will cost 3,000 to replace (that’s 3 dollars a day for 36 months) it’s not as lucrative as you may think.

Buses, delivery drivers, route salesmen and other daily users are all feeling the strain of this much needed reconstruction.

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