Much of the regional and national heavy traffic entering and leaving Santander towards the Atlantic coast, Norte de Santander, the country’s capital and the middle Magdalena region is transported along the aforementioned road corridor, which positions it as a strategic corridor within the national road network.
Given the obvious accessibility difficulties in the Ring Road area, various business associations, drivers and citizens in general are jointly requesting the authorities to adapt returns along that vehicular stretch.
For several years Invías has been trying, unsuccessfully, to build a return to the level of Newport.
The problem is serious, especially if one takes into account that the Girón – Floridablanca Ring Road is a main and essential artery for the mobility and articulation of industrial, commercial and residential areas in the metropolitan area.
Furthermore, the urban growth of the sector has been faced with insufficient attention in terms of road investment, public transport provision and institutional presence.
The increase in vehicular traffic and the lack of investment in signage, traffic lights, turnarounds and public transport infrastructure have negatively impacted the quality of life and safety standards of both people and businesses along this road corridor.
In accordance with Andrea Serrano Pintogeneral manager of the Zona Franca Santander, “the lack of return roads and informal crossings on the road are some of the most worrying problems, which in addition to compromising the well-being of pedestrians, drivers and passengers, generate high traffic congestion, long and costly trips that affect the quality of life of those affected.”
This situation has led to an increase in dangerous and prohibited maneuvers such as crossing the dividers, especially by motorcyclists, representing a risk to their lives, pedestrians and other drivers who converge on this important road.
Serrano Pinto argued that 12,000 vehicles travel daily at an average speed of 60 km/h on this dual-quality, mixed-traffic corridor and on an area of urban and business expansion that has been growing over the last decade (reaching 250,000 visitors per month).
In addition, more than 10,000 workers who arrive and leave daily from Bucaramanga, Floridablanca, Girón and Piedecuesta to the more than 100 companies that converge in the area are exposed to high risks related to this situation, which also involves third parties such as clients, suppliers. and frequent visitors to the area.
Other voices
For Alberto Montoya Puyana, Former mayor of Bucaramanga, “the Ring Road requires several returns. This problem must be solved by Invías and it must be done soon, because to build them it is necessary to buy land.” “As it is, the median cannot be opened due to the risk of causing accidents by interrupting a lane and crossing the other roadway,” he added.
“The Ring Road has a lot of traffic and the return lanes must have a design that allows fluid traffic without generating the risk of collisions,” he stressed.
To its turn, Juan Carlos Rincon Lievanoexecutive president of the Chamber of Commerce of Bucaramanga, said that “the absence of these works discourages economic activity and the presence of important companies in a road corridor with great economic activity and an export vocation for many of its companies.”
He added: “The level of impact on the working population is immense, causing unjustified delays in accessing and leaving their jobs; it is a blow to the productivity and competitiveness of our business fabric.”
In addition to road returns, the unions also demand solutions to the lack of public transportation in the area. It is necessary to design and authorize frequent routes on the road to the municipality of Bucaramanga, avoiding the current cost overruns and high travel times for users. Currently, conventional public transport routes connect the municipalities of Floridablanca, Piedecuesta, Girón and only two sectors. from the capital of Santander.
