After three years of interventions, the The Bogotá-Girardot highway concession exceeded 50 percent of the work’s execution and estimates that after mid-2025 the project will be completed and the entire road will be in operation.
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The announcement was made by Laurent Cavrois, general manager of the Via Sumapaz concessionin an interview with EL TIEMPO. He said that they are on schedule and that they will be finishing within the stipulated period of 5 years.
The general manager also explained that, although the work is in the middle of execution, it does not mean that the same amount of time is missing.
Laurent Cavrois, general manager of the Via Sumapaz concession
Photo:Sumapaz Highway Concession
In fact, the concession began the project in the most complex areas, such as the cuts and stabilization of slopes more than 100 meters high, which became the critical route of the third rail project.
“Today we have surpassed 50 percent, so we are more than halfway there. But this indicator does not accurately measure time, because we are closer to the end than to the beginning,” he said.
In the case of the third lane works, the concession indicates that it has already reached 60 percent progress.
According to the general manager of the Vía Sumapaz concession, At the end of 2024, two functional units will be made available to users and in mid-2025 the rest.
“So, we are fully aligned with the schedule agreed with the ANI and in total it will be a work that will have lasted 5 years,” said Cavrois.
This is what the three-lane road looks like at the roundabout near the municipality of Fusagasugá
Photo:Via Sumapaz Concession
The Bogotá-Girardot Third Lane project contemplates, in general terms, the rehabilitation of 145 km of the dual carriageway, of which more than 60 km will be three lanes.
The stabilization of 120 km of slopes (more than 100 km of which have already been completed) and the rehabilitation of the Boquerón tunnel are also planned. The cost is estimated at 6.4 billion pesos.
The Bogotá-Girardot Third Lane project contemplates, in general terms, the rehabilitation of 145 km of the dual carriageway, of which more than 60 km will be in three lanes.
The complexity of the works has not only been due to the geography of the terrain, since the road passes through mountain areas and high slopes, but also due to the type of work that must be carried out, as is the case of the slopes near Melgar, in the Alto de Canecas area and in the Sumapaz tunnel sector, and which have required lane closures, which has affected mobility.
However, according to the general manager of the concession, such works are already being completed and will soon focus on the pending sections of the third lane between Bogotá and the Sumapaz tunnel.
How is the Bogotá-Girardot road going?
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The Bogotá – Girardot highway is a key corridor for the center of the country, as it connects the south and southwest of the country with the capital. But it also passes through a region with a large tourist vocation, such as the south of Cundinamarca and the north of Tolima, and that is why every weekend there is a considerable increase in vehicle traffic.
For this San Pedro bridge, one of the three dates and seasons with the most mobility, along with Three Kings and Holy Week, the concession expects more than 100,000 vehicles to be mobilized there.
In fact, For this San Pedro long weekend, one of the three dates and seasons with the most traffic, along with the Epiphany and Easter holidays, the concession expects more than 100,000 vehicles to travel there..
That is why Vía Sumapaz announced that it has enabled more assistance units, lanes for electronic payment at toll booths, monitoring personnel and that the Transit Police will also have a greater number of troops deployed.
However, Cavrois specified that in the exodus plan there will be areas where users will only find one lane available and will have to wait for the stop and go.
Via Bogotá – Girardot, Chusacá sector
Photo:Sumapaz Road Concession
Travelers will find construction work starting at the Chusacá toll booth and ending at the entrance to Fusagasugá.
In that section, the road concession has more work fronts where, although activities will be suspended during the bridge, travelers will find restrictions in several places.
But on holiday Monday, in the return operation, when the vehicular flow is concentrated returning to the country’s capital, the reversible route will be enabled between Fusagasugá and the Chusacá toll, in Soacha, from 12 noon until midnight.
However, as there are several sections with a third lane in operation, the concession manager asks users to avoid the temptation to exceed the speed limit and to heed the signs and instructions of the police and personnel of the Vía Sumapaz concession.
Pico y placa on the South Highway
The concession recommends that travelers take into account the peak and plate measurement in the municipality of Soacha, along the South Highway:
-This is how the restriction works:
From 12 noon to 4 pm vehicles with even number plates enter.
From 4 pm to 8 pm vehicles with odd license plates enter
Load restriction
Friday, June 28: From 3:00 pm to 10:00 pm
Saturday, June 29: 8:00 am to 3 pm
Sunday, June 30: From 4:00 pm to 11:00 pm
Monday, July 1: 8:00 a.m. tues 1:am tuesday
Where to ask for help
If you experience or witness any incident on the road, you can contact the emergency help lines 018000 180305 – 310 4224687 and stay informed of the state of the road through the @ViaSumapaz account on X.
GUILLERMO REINOSO RODRIGUEZ
Bogotá Editor
In X: @guirei24
