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One of the most important engineering works in the country, which is also crucial for land connectivity, will be put into service from today. It is the La Línea tunnel, the longest in highway mode in Latin America, which is part of the Cruce de la Cordillera Central project.
The work, whose execution was halted for several years due to contractual problems, had an investment of $ 1 billion and consists of 8.65 kilometers that cross the central mountain range.
The La Línea tunnel is part of a route considered strategic to boost the country’s economy and competitiveness, as it will help reduce costs to move products from the port of Buenaventura through which about 42% of Colombia’s foreign trade moves .
The project, whose execution is led by the Instituto Nacional de Vías (Invías), will speed up travel between the capitals of the southwest such as Cali (Valle del Cauca) or Armenia (Quindío) with Bogotá. One of the bets of the Government of Iván Duque has been to complete this work.
“This tunnel represents the greatest triumph of our engineering, it is a project that was dreamed of more than 100 years ago and practically less than 20 years ago we began this process that was very demanding, which required the work of many people who with great mystique they took this initiative forward, ”said President Duque.
For the complete project, which includes the total construction of 60 works, Invías has allocated $ 2.9 billion.
The Crossing of the Central Cordillera will be delivered in two phases, the first that starts today includes five tunnels that are La Línea (8.65 kilometers); a La Línea rescue tunnel (8.5 kilometers); three short tunnels of 343 meters (m), 627 m and 904 m each; five viaducts and 13.4 kilometers of dual carriageway that will make up a pair of roads with the current road through the top of La Línea.
The tunnels and bridges will have electromechanical equipment (ventilation systems that guarantee air flow, electrical systems, fire fighting systems, closed circuit television, communications and intelligent transport systems).
In the second phase, projected for April 2021, the missing works will be delivered and the entire Central Mountain Range Crossing will be put into service. This includes the dual carriageways built from Cajamarca to the Tolima tunnel portal and the dual carriageway from Calarcá to the tunnel portal in Quindío.
For the president of the Colombian Federation of Cargo Transporters and Logistics (Colfecar), Nidia Hernández Jiménez, with the work there will be reductions in times of approximately 50 minutes and 23 kilometers traveled in the west-central direction of the country.
“The Line tunnel is one of the mega-works most desired by the freight transport sector and will contribute significantly to the logistics and competitiveness of the country.”
He recalled that 18,000 cargo vehicles cross the Armenia and Ibagué corridor each month, moving 40% of the country’s cargo.
The construction of the La Línea tunnel began in August 2009 and the work was abandoned since November 2016 and, for two years, progressed at very low rates.
In December 2018, the resources to reactivate and guarantee the completion of the project were approved and in 2019 the works were reactivated, the budgets were incorporated, the bids were approved and the execution of contracts began. On February 8, 2020, the civil works were completed.
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