Tram work resumes Monday in several locations

The Cuenca mayor’s office confirmed Friday that work on the long-delayed tranvía project will resume Monday morning. Except for minor work carried out by city crews in the historical district, the project has been stalled since October 2016 when Spanish project manager Consorcio Cuatro Ríos de Cuenca (CCRC) walked off the job in a payment dispute with the city.

Construction of the tram has been stalled for more than a year outside of the historic district.

New project manager, the French ACTN consortium, will begin a full examination of the railway on Monday, cleaning installed tracks and making repairs to damaged track and other equipment. In addition, ACTN spokeswoman Mónica Quezada, said work will begin on three bridges at the Tomebamba and Yanuncay Rivers on Av. Los Americas, and on the Milchichig River.

According to Quezada, a construction priority is to complete the railway from the train yard off Av. Las Americas at Av. Mexico through the historical district.

City coordinator for the project, Santiago López, said all paperwork for the resumption of tram work has been completed and funds to pay ACTN have been transferred to a new project bank account. ACTN will have 300 calendar days to complete the project, he said.