The sound of silence

Ever since the end of the holiday season (no matter how you measure it that season has been over for some time now), we’ve been waiting for the sounds of paving and road work to once again fill the air here in Loreto Bay, particularly in the Founder's Neighborhood which has been awaiting asphalt since long before the holiday break. But it’s the sound of silence that continues to dominate, with only the occasional caw of a gull to break the monotony.

Homex started this project with a colossal amount of energy and speed that has dwindled over the past few weeks to a few workers here in AV finishing up the curbing and retaining walls. The only completed and paved portions of road after all this time are the south entrance from Highway 1 to the Paseo and then the short stretch to the Inn and a couple of other very short branches.

Even just a couple of weeks ago Agua Viva was abuzz with road construction activity, but now work is at a virtual standstill. The two photos below were taken from our roof tower at about 2:30 p.m. today. As you can see, there's a whole lotta nothing going on.




So what gives?

The most persistent rumor is that work has stopped because the paving contractor has not been paid by Homex and he’s holding out until he gets some cold, hard pesos.

I, for one, don’t blame him, if it’s true he hasn’t been paid in months. It seems unlikely that any small company could go months without an infusion of capital, while still having to meet overhead and pay employees. Why should a small Mexican contractor have to carry a behemoth like Homex for months at a time? Considering how many local contractors got ripped off by the old Loreto Bay Company, it’s a wonder anyone will do business out here at all. So if this rumor is indeed fact, then Homex should do the right thing and pay the contractor. Let’s get this show on the road, for crying out loud!!

Another whisper on the wind says Homex has stopped work because the bigwigs are mulling the possibility of asking home owners to ante up and share the cost of paving the Paseo. This particular scenario doesn’t make sense at all. Homex hasn’t allowed any home owner input regarding the layout and paving, so it’s hard to imagine they’d have their hand out for help at this point in the project. This isn’t some rinky-dink company we’re talking about here. Homex is one of the largest companies in Mexico, so it would seem safe to assume they’re not crazy. Then again, this is Mexico...

Maybe work will resume tomorrow or maybe it won’t. Maybe they ran out of asphalt like they did before the holidays or maybe we’ll never know what caused the work stoppage. Whatever the reason, we hope Homex pays up, gears up and finishes up this project before we’re all too old to enjoy a new road!