The extension of the Central Dominican Railroad from Santiago to Moca was built and is operated by the Dominican government. In 1894 a franchise was granted the San Domingo Improvement Company for the Moca road, and grading was done for several miles outside of Santiago, but the financial troubles of the Dominican government suspended the work. When better times came, the government in 1906 began to build the road from Santiago to Moca with current revenues, and it was opened to traffic in 1910. At Moca this road is met by the extension of the Samana-Santiago Railroad from Salcedo, so that it is possible to travel by rail through the fertile Cibao from Sanchez to Puerto Plata, though the difference in gauge requires a change of cars at Moca. A railroad between the Cibao and Santo Domingo City has long been contemplated. Government engineers a few years ago surveyed a route from Santo Domingo City to La Gina, on the Samana-Santiago Railroad, passing through Cotui. The route is 80 miles long, and the estimated cost is about $2,325,000. Such a through railroad would open up great tracts now isolated, afford an easy means of communication between the north and south, and be of inestimable advantage to the Republic. It is the most urgent and important public work under consideration in the country. Another road which has long been projected and which the Dominican government in 1906 determined to have constructed with current revenues, is one in the east, from Seibo, on the plains in the interior, to the port of La Romana in the southern coast. This region, excellently adapted for cacao raising and sugar planting, has been kept secluded by bad roads. After several thousand dollars had been spent in surveys and a little grading, the work was stopped by lack of funds and the government decided that the expense of construction and the undeveloped character of the country counselled an abandonment of the project for the moment. If the railroad is finally built, it will probably be from Seibo to San Pedro de Macoris and not to La Romana. Even in the immediate vicinity of Santo Domingo City most roads are in such bad condition that during the rainy season villages only a few miles away cannot be reached except by floundering through the mud for many hours, and even during the dry season, with all conditions favorable, it requires two days hard riding to reach the city of Azua, 80 miles to the west. A railroad from the capital to Azua has therefore been proposed repeatedly, and in 1901 a concession was granted for the first section thereof, from Santo Domingo to San Cristobal, a distance of 16 miles, with the right of extension. The revolution of the spring of 1903 interrupted the construction of this road, but a little work was done in 1906 under a new contract, which has since been declared lapsed.