In June 2025, officials in Panam\u00e1 celebrated the construction of the Florentina Bridge, replacing a span that collapsed after heavy rains four years earlier.<\/p>\n
“Here we are, as the Ministry of Public Works, proposing that this site, which was a disaster zone, be landscaped and transformed into a tourist attraction for Volc\u00e1n,” Public Works Minister Jos\u00e9 Luis Andrade declared. “If we manage to complete the landscaping, it should take about five or six months. It’s going to be beautiful.” (Haga clic aqu\u00ed<\/a> para acceder a la versi\u00f3n en espa\u00f1ol de este art\u00edculo).<\/p>\n In the months that followed, workers planted spindly trees trees and added concrete benches along the Chiriqu\u00ed Viejo River, which winds down from Bar\u00fa Volcano before weaving past the northern edge of Volc\u00e1n, population 15,000, the largest town in Tierras Altas District. But nearly 10 months after Andrade’s delarations, the land around the bridge is mostly bare and the most prominent feature isn’t a park, but a huge river quarry that went into operation despite concerns that it could permanently damage the river and increase the risk of deadly floods.<\/p>\n