| Work Detail |
The challenge of thinking about public works without Nation money: is it possible to pave Route 37 to solve the problem of the ring road in Comodoro Rivadavia?
Last year, during the emergency of the landslide of Route 3 in front of Chenque, an agreement was signed for Provincial Roads to prepare the paving project. Without money from the Nation, Chubut is looking for an external financing scheme for works.
SUNDAY, JANUARY 7, 2024 05:00
Route 37 is gravel and was used as an alternative for heavy traffic when Route 3 was cut. Photo: Diario Crónica.
Route 37 is gravel and was used as an alternative for heavy traffic when Route 3 was cut. Photo: Diario Crónica.
The cut in funds for public works announced by President Javier Milei clashes with the determination, at least the speech, of Governor Ignacio Torres, when he affirmed his decision to undertake infrastructure projects of importance for Chubut, even within the countrys economic crisis. and the province in particular. Among these initiatives, which propose substantive solutions without falling into pharaonic (unrealizable) proposals, the alternative of paving Route 37 appears as a clear challenge, to solve the historical problem of Route 3 as it passes through the oil city.
The landslide of Route 3 at its entrance to the center of Comodoro Rivadavia, which occurred on August 30, once again revealed the lack of a fundamental solution to the problem of heavy traffic through the heart of the city. That event also made clear another reality and that is that even before this problem, the connection between the southern zone and the northern zone was already collapsed, due to the large number of vehicles that circulate daily.
He was born in Comodoro and together with a famous YouTuber he heads one of the most important Twitch channels in Brazil.
The vehicular chaos in Comodoro was multiplied by the breakdown of the road, but even with that artery repaired, there are still major inconveniences for circulation.
The vehicular chaos in Comodoro was multiplied by the breakdown of the route, but even with that artery repaired it continues to cause major problems for circulation.
Added to this complexity is the passage of 5,000 trucks per day, making circulation, during peak hours of the school season, highly difficult. If unforeseen events are added to this, not as serious as a geological landslide but as simple as a traffic accident without injuries, then the chaos increases to the point of impeding circulation, or causing absurd delays to cover distances of between 3 and 5 kilometers.
It is worth insisting: the repair carried out after the last landslide still lacks the extent of the protection work of the entire coastal front, which has been seriously eroded in recent years by the action of maritime currents. The last provisional solution lasted 3 decades, after the 1995 landslide; but the distance between events that prevented circulation in recent times was much more limited, including the fall of the rock in September 2022 and the displacement of the slope, which extended throughout September 2023.
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Another of the works that remains to be completed is the protection wall of the entire coastline, between the waterfront and km.3 .
Another of the works that remains to be completed is the protection wall of the entire coastal front, between the coastline and km.3.
The bypass of Route 3 will not resolve this geological instability in a neuralgic sector of the city, but easing the traffic load in that section is as vital as the paving of the alternative roads that were used during the last emergency, especially that of the stables and the route that connects Saavedra with Laprida.
THE PAVEMENT OF ROUTE 37 AND OTHER OPTIONS FOR THE BELTWAY
If there was something positive from the emergency that the city experienced in September of last year, it was the verification, once again, that provincial route 37 can be a circulation option for truck traffic.
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Even in its current gravel structure, with proper maintenance, the journey of around 40 kilometers was very useful, which begins in the north at the cross with route 3, before beginning the descent of the Ferrays canyon. The junction with route 26 was made at Pampa del Castillo, to get from there to the roundabout at 3 and 26.
The paving of Route 37 could be part of a comprehensive solution to the traffic problem in Comodoro Rivadavia.
The paving of Route 37 could be part of a comprehensive solution to the traffic problem in Comodoro Rivadavia.
The other positive fact of those days of emergency was the decision to carry out a project, by Provincial Roads, for its paving, for which an agreement was signed between the provincial body and its national counterpart. Although everything was diluted in the electoral process from October to November and the change of government, they are instruments that could be taken up to speed up, if what is sought is a substantive and moderately executable solution in the short term, that is, within of the next two years.
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The possible paving of Route 37 as a ring road alternative had already been raised by ADNSUR in an article published on August 10, 2017. , faced with a circumstantial problem that at that time led to a temporary diversion of heavy traffic as it passed through the city.
“Works of art such as bridges or culverts are not needed,” said one of the technicians with experience in road works at that time. It is a perfectly feasible work, without major complications from a construction point of view, because it does not require soil movements or major clearing work. It is a practically straight work.”
The collapse of Route 3 is already a memory, but the two events that occurred less than a year apart give a warning signal.
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Even though a few more kilometers are added to the route, the advantage of this route is that it avoids passing through the Ferrays canyon complex, with the high risk that it implies for trucks both on the way down and up, in addition to the fact that by avoiding passing through urban areas (where more than 50,000 vehicles converge per day) it compensates for the longer stretch with faster times.
It is not the only alternative when thinking about the city ring road, but it seems the easiest to face, compared to the viaduct, which was discussed again at last years event, or the ring road layout in the area. west, which would demand large volumes of soil movement in areas increasingly closer to urban areas.
Another advantage of taking the existing alternative layout is cost. Although there are no details, the references that are handled in sectors of the construction industry, released years ago, ranged between 5 and 10 million dollars, that is, much less expensive than the viaduct option (estimated at 65 million dollars) or the ring road with a new layout from zero.
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THE PROBLEM OF FINANCING
It is impossible to talk about basic infrastructure works without taking into account the context of the economic crisis that the country is going through, with enhanced effects in Chubut from endemic debt in the last 10 years.
“In Chubut, public works, yes,” said Torres in his inauguration speech, on December 9, in contrast to the there is no money proposed by Javier Milei, when announcing the cut of funds for public works.
Torres seeks external financing for public works, with indirect financing from the Nation.
Torres seeks external financing for public works, with indirect financing from the Nation.
It is not a mere question of voluntarism, since the province does not have the capacity to absorb with its own funds the works that the Nation will no longer finance. The scheme that the governor has in mind aims to obtain international financing, in a system agreed with the Nation.
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“There is an Arab fund that is willing to finance some works, with a form of recovery in which it would be part of the operation. For example, a dam that will be used for energy generation, in which they would recover 50% of what they invest with the operation of the hydroelectric plant,” said a source who participates in this type of negotiations.
The alternatives also involve credit lines from the IDB or the World Bank, with whose representatives he will hold meetings in the coming weeks. Not all works have the possibility of recovery through private participation, so in this framework the other form of recovery arises, with indirect participation of the national State.
The idea is not simple, but it can be novel. Since Chubut owes the national State a series of loans that it took at the time to pay salaries and bonuses, the presidents intention is to go out and take out those external credits, but the Nation allocates that debt to carry out works (which the Milei government itself is not going to execute) as compensation for the debt with the national State.
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“Thus, we get rid of debt by doing works,” Torres usually explains when talking about this scheme, which has yet to find capital willing to lend money to the Chubut state. If it works, it would be the modality with which the new government aims to solve other basic infrastructure problems, which in Comodoro Rivadavia fundamentally have to do with the security of the water supply and the water works pending after the 2017 catastrophe. Fontana Lake Dam, on the other hand, was part of the agenda with Minister Guillermo Franco, who took note that it has already been awarded and the initiation document has been signed.
The reconstruction of Route 40, in the Facundo-Tamarisco section, is another of the infrastructure works that the governor would have in mind to finance with external funds.
The reconstruction of Route 40, in the Facundo-Tamarisco section, is another of the infrastructure works that the governor would have in mind to finance with external funds.
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In terms of works in the province, another of the key projects that the new administration is thinking about is reconstruction of a large part of Route 40 as it passes through Chubut, which in the Facundo-Tamariscos section, of just over 40 kilometers, has a situation of absolute precariousness, which collides head-on with the tourism development policy announced by the provincial government. .
The financing system, if it is achieved, will be the key to a government management that faces the challenge of responding to historical problems, in a crisis framework with few precedents in the country. The attempt does not seem misguided, since the other option is to sit idly by while the growing shortage is managed. |
