The Ministry of Transportation and Public Works (MTOP) inaugurated, this Thursday the 1st, the transit interchange located at the intersection of route 5 and Luis Eduardo Pérez road. With the work, which began in July 2021 and in which 16,000,000 dollars were invested, the aim is to order circulation and reduce traffic accidents. The Government seeks road safety, indicated the head of the portfolio, José Luis Falero.
The President of the Republic, Luis Lacalle Pou, and Minister Falero were accompanied by the Secretary of the Presidency, Álvaro Delgado; the mayor of Montevideo, Carolina Cosse, and representatives of the construction company.
The work is located between kilometers 11.3 and 13 of Route 5 and allows fluid access to the Metropolitan Food and Agriculture Unit (UAM), located there.
In his speech, Falero pointed out the importance of the interchange, which coincides with “the objective of the Government to bet heavily on road safety to mitigate a pandemic that has hit us for a long time, which are fatal traffic accidents.” Likewise, he expressed: “Concrete actions had to be taken to reverse these negative statistical data.” He also mentioned that it is a convenient access road, which eases traffic congestion, organizes it, improves traffic flow and reduces distances, especially for producers.
He added that this initiative was carried out through a contract for the design, construction, rehabilitation, maintenance and financing of road infrastructure within the public domain strip (Cremaf), which streamlines the processes and completion times.
On the other hand, he asserted that a strong investment was made by working on the double track of Route 5, from Montevideo to Durazno. The MTOP identified a great overload that “needs an intervention different from the traditional one and the problem of conflict in urban areas must be mitigated,” he indicated.
Falero also announced that the viaduct will be inaugurated on the port promenade of Montevideo on December 12.
According to the portfolio, the work on the interchange, which began in July 2021, allows this route to be crossed on a double track and elevated on the Luis Eduardo Pérez road. Likewise, vehicles that pass through the bridge on Route 5 will be able to circulate without interference.
From the portfolio they detailed that the work, for 16,000,000 dollars, included two viaducts 17 meters long each, metal defenses to prevent derailments, lighting, a roundabout, underviaducts at the level of the Luis Eduardo Pérez road that allow connectivity with the four branches and access to and from Route 5 in the north and south directions, accessory works for sewers, rainwater conduction, pedestrian sidewalks and signage. The road solution for the crossing also required the construction of a new double track bridge over the Pantanoso stream.
