Jubilados and road users learning to have patience

Exhorting citizens  to have  “patience” is becoming  part of the regular message of Panama’s authorities.

Jubilados (retirees) calling for the an increase in their meager pensions have been told by two ministers and the president to have patience, while the government tries to figure out where to get the money to fulfill its election promise. 

Motorists on the Transistmica need patience while jubilados block  the highway to draw attention to their plight.

Drivers in  all parts of Panama are told they will have to be patient for up to three years as  plans to build the metro subway and new flyovers move from drawing board the streets.

Now commuters on the Arraiján-La Chorrera highway, are asked to have patience throughout December as the normal Christmas traffic build up is compounded by a road repair program. Transport officials say that measures are being taken to reduce the impact on traffic.
 
Francisco Sanjur, spokesman for the transit authority (ATTT)  said that resurfacing the highway, is being done by using asphalt that dries as it is laid.

Sanjur said that, from Monday to Friday, from 8.:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., work will only take place on the side of the road from Arraiján to the interior, allowing rush hour traffic to enter the city. Later the work will shift sides, allowing people to get home, while making life harder for those heading  out for Christmas shopping or entertainment. 
Sanjur called on drivers to exhibit "patience," and advised them to leave earlier to leave plenty of time to arrive at their destination.
 
The project is part of a larger plan to expand the highway to six lanes. It will take several years, and cost an estimated $152.6 million. Officials estimate it will benefit 1.4 million people who use the road on a regular basis.