On the night of Tuesday, April 13, and the early hours of April 14, a monumental traffic jam occurred in the via Bogotá-Girardot at the height of the ‘Devil’s Nose’. This led the authorities to start talks with the Vía 40 Express concession to prevent this situation from happening again.
(Read: Plans to do and measures in Bogotá for Holy Week 2022).
“The affectation began in Tolima, and the line reached the toll limits in Chinauta. We calculate that the traffic could have been stuck for more than two or three hours, the queues reached more than 2 kilometers and the average speed was less than 5 kilometers per hour.“, according to the Secretary of Mobility of Cundinamarca, Jorge Godoy.
The traffic jams were due to the interventions they are doing for the concession in the third rail construction and certain maintenance. The works were previously announced but added to the early departure of thousands of travelers.
“According to figures from our Observatory, the day with the greatest mobility is precisely this Wednesday. That is why it took us by surprise that on Tuesday people were already traveling“, assured the Secretary of Mobility who also, in conversation with City TV, explained that an “invitation was made to the concession to enable the sections that are in contraflow”.
In addition, it recommended that travelers pay attention to the official communication channels of Vía 40 Express and take, if possible, the Mondoñedo road as an alternative corridor.
(Keep reading: Are you going to travel during Easter? This is how the main roads of the country are).
The senior official also clarified that due to the Route 40 there are different intervention points resulting from the construction of the third rail and routine maintenance. As a result, the Boquerón tunnel has been closed for more than a month and operates in a single lane at night. “In communication with the 40 Express, it was confirmed that the tunnel will not be closed again this weekend,” he pointed out.
For now, the Vía 40 Express has announced to some travelers that it is monitoring the corridor and “adapting our Traffic Management Plans to improve mobility through sections with greater construction complexity.”
Finally, the Mobility Secretariat of Cundinamarca will have a follow-up device and traffic control in Fusagasugá.
The measures announced by the Via 40 Express Concessionin charge of the third rail project, are:
-Closure of one lane permanently due to the deep rehabilitation of the slabs, and a contingency plan that enables a counterflow through the Girardot – Bogotá road.
-Reduction of two hours in the closing time of the tunnel to allow the mobility of users who are on the road, enabling the passage from 4:00 am
(Read: Know the price of tolls for Holy Week in Colombia).
-Reduction of active work fronts from the afternoon hours of this Monday, April 13.
-To facilitate traffic at these points, contingency plans will be implemented together with the National Police to allow the mobility of users.
-180 police officers, and a greater number of concession units for emergency care.
-Activation of available lanes in the sectors that have restrictions and that can be enabled so that there is greater traffic and ease of mobility for users.
BRIEFCASE
