President Sebastian Pinera visited this Friday the construction works of the Chacao Bridge, which will link Puerto Montt with Chiloé -in the Los Lagos Region- and which will be the largest in Latin America.
“Today we have the great joy and satisfaction of verifying that it is already under construction and that at the beginning of the year 2025 it will unite continental Chile with Chiloé,” said the President after touring the facilities accompanied by the Minister of Public Works, Alfredo Morenoand the presidential delegate from Los Lagos, Carlos Geisse.
“We have done everything that was necessary to be able to share this joy with you, as we promised two years ago,” he added.
At 2.7 kilometers long, it is the longest suspension bridge in Latin America, capable of withstanding more than 12,000 vehicles circulating on its four lanes and with a useful life of 100 years. It is projected that, when it begins operations, the daily flow will increase from 3,000 to 5,500 cars per day.
The megastructure has a total investment of US$772 million and is built of reinforced concrete 200 meters above sea level.
In addition, the bridge is made up of more than 40 thousand tons of reinforcing and structural steel, which is equivalent to five times the weight of the Eiffel Tower; almost 10 thousand tons of cables; 20,700 tons of metallic board; and more than 130,000 m3 of reinforced concrete, which, in volume of water, could fill 40 Olympic swimming pools.
“This bridge will allow a more expeditious, more permanent connection, which will mean shorter, safer trips and will allow better integration and give a tremendous boost to the economy of Chiloé Island and our entire country (… ) This is an engineering milestone because it will be remembered and will be part of the identity of this region and of our country”, added Piñera.
Likewise, the President made a public account of the Development Plan for the Los Lagos Region.
Along with the construction of the Bridge over the Chacao Canal, the President highlighted the implementation of hospital projects in the provinces of Llanquihue and Chiloé, the Castro Bypass, the delivery of 43,920 housing solutions, 18 new Bicentennial High Schools of Excellence and the closure of 13 camps.
