The deterioration of national roads generates million-dollar losses and paralyzes transportation in Santander, unions warn.
The Alliance for Santander launched an urgent call to the National Government, warning about the “road collapse” that the region is going through. This problem has intensified due to significant damage to national roads, such as the Route 45A and the Transversal del Carare.
The situation has led the economic unions of the department to consider this crisis as a “national emergency” that requires immediate attention.
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In one letter addressed to President Gustavo Petrothe representatives of the Alliance express that the deterioration of these strategic corridors is affecting the road safety and mobility of thousands of people.
This collapse not only limits transportation, but also negatively impacts supply and economic activity in the south of Santander and eastern Colombia, generating million-dollar losses.
The daily logistics cost has increased alarmingly, reaching figures exceeding 75,000 million pesos. The detours and the increase in fuel consumption, together with the paralysis of cargo transportation, They have raised freight costs by 40%.
This, as noted, puts at risk the competitiveness of Santander companieswhich depend on adequate road infrastructure.
The road crisis also affects intermunicipal transportation, harming more than 60,000 passengers who use the Bucaramanga–Tunja–Bogotá corridor daily.
This isolation impacts access in more than 50 municipalities to essential services such as health, education and commercewhich further aggravates the social and economic situation of the region.
The agricultural sector is one of the most affected by this emergency. In 2024, agriculture, livestock and fishing in Santander represented 6.9% of the national value added.
However, The isolation of roads threatens the productive capacity of thousands of small farmers and transportersgenerating a possible shortage of basic products such as chicken and eggs in the center of the country.
Faced with this situation, the Alianza has urged the government to prioritize attention of these corridors in the national budget and to accelerate the programming of necessary investments.
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The lack of effective solutions has led communities and transport unions to protest, raising the barriers at various tolls in the region for more than 20 days.
Finally, the Alianza por Santander has requested that the commitments of the “Vías de los Comuneros” agreement be metsigned in December 2024, to guarantee the financing of the works on the Transversal del Carare and the Central Trunk.
Recovery of connectivity is an urgent need to safeguard both the life and competitiveness of the region
Source: Integrated Information System
