| Work Detail |
The need to improve traffic flow and eliminate unsafe crossings for pedestrians led the city government to promote a plan to add five underpasses (PBN) to the railway lines that cross the city, in works that will begin this second semester in different neighborhoods.
Initially, as LA NACIÓN was able to confirm, progress will be made with two new tunnels in Caballito and Villa Lugano, but the local administration plans to continue in 2025 with three other projects of the same characteristics in Villa Luro and Núñez. And it is evaluating a similar number in other neighborhoods for later and reaching ten to meet a management goal.
The initiatives, meanwhile, received comments from the groups of residents affected by the works. With nuances, they call for prior instances of citizen participation through which dissent can be raised and options can be exchanged for the planned interventions.
The five tunnels are at different stages of construction: while some have been put out to tender, others are only at a preliminary stage. Each of them will require an investment of between 8 and 10 million dollars and a construction time of between 12 and 15 months.
“Improving circulation, regulating traffic and avoiding road accidents are among the priorities of the head of government, Jorge Macri. And to do so, he made the decision, in this economic context, to put these underpass works out to tender and not wait for solutions that are sometimes delayed,” Infrastructure Minister Pablo Bereciartúa told LA NACION.
The certainty is that before the end of this year, work will begin on the PBN on Federico García Lorca Street, the Sarmiento train in Caballito; and Larrazábal on the Belgrano Sur route in Villa Lugano, as confirmed by the Infrastructure portfolio.
The list of new “toads”, as these constructions are colloquially called, is completed with the one on Irigoyen Street, at the intersection of the Sarmiento tracks in Villa Luro; and the two remaining ones that go under the Mitre line tracks, at the intersections of Ramallo and Correa streets.
In the future, new tunnels will be built to complement the Larrazábal crossing in the south of the city, on Murguiondo, Cafayate and Piedra Buena streets; as well as the Sarmiento line at the intersection of Nazca Avenue in Flores; and the route of the San Martín line, near the neighborhoods of Villa Devoto and Villa Del Parque.
“We are going to continue. The City has a long history of successful PBN projects. In 16 years, 29 were carried out,” said the official, who acknowledged that the projects, in their initial stage, are open to “revisions” before reaching the final version. “There is an open dialogue with the residents to learn about their proposals,” he added.
The works
The plan has among its priority axes to ensure that the Mitre line, on the branch that connects the Retiro and Tigre terminals, is the first railway line that does not have any barriers along its entire extension on the Buenos Aires surface.
The railway route already has a high-rise viaduct, which runs from Palermo to Belgrano, and its construction led to the elimination of eight barriers. To complete the rest of the extension, they proposed, in this first stage, two "toads" on Ramallo and Correa streets, near the Núñez neighborhood. The first will go in the direction of Avenida del Libertador-Cabildo and the other in the opposite direction and will allow the passage of light traffic and public transport.
Among the benefits stipulated, the Buenos Aires sources highlighted a time saving of 20 minutes of lowered barrier per hour. In addition, the design includes a new public green space of approximately 1,000 square meters “with recreational and rest areas on the remaining land between the layout and the building line.”
The Infrastructure Ministry acknowledged that “there is resistance from residents” to Correa’s PBN, regarding the impact that the work could have on a Buenos Aires street that still has the traditional cobblestones. For this reason, they announced that they will intensify neighborhood meetings to learn about opinions and alternatives.
According to reports, the residents are asking that the tunnel not be built directly and that motorists who want to go to Avenida del Libertador do so via Besares, after changing the direction of traffic on that street. They also suggest that the “sapito” in Ramallo not be opened to public transport, but that the route of one of the branches of the 130 bus be modified.
In the western part of Buenos Aires, meanwhile, work is scheduled to begin on the first PBN in the Caballito neighborhood, at the intersection of the Sarmiento and García Lorca railroad tracks, a few meters from the station, where there is a vehicular crossing with a barrier in an area with a high volume of traffic and pedestrian circulation.
There, sidewalks and streets will be repaired and new public spaces will be created with rest areas and urban facilities. The work will be carried out by the company Autopistas Urbanas (AUSA), will last 17 months and is expected to be inaugurated at the beginning of 2026.
The second PBN of the Sarmiento train was planned in Irigoyen, in Commune 10, where the level crossing of the road “constitutes a point of delays and congestion”, in addition to the problems of risk of incidents related to railway crossings.
"It is estimated that this underpass will benefit more than 6,700 vehicles a day, as it will optimize the flow of vehicles in the area adjacent to the tracks, providing greater railway and road safety and easing traffic congestion," said the Buenos Aires sources.
In this case, there were also critical voices about the project in relation to the process prior to the start of the work. Silvia, a resident of Commune 10, said that they are “very worried because there was no participation from the residents” and assessed that this “toad” is “going to bring them many problems.”
“A section of the square in Irigoyen will be lost, and parking will also be difficult. They are going to remove about 30 trees and there is a possibility that it will generate stagnant water,” the neighbor listed regarding the possible problems that they warn will occur in the area.
Source: https://www.lanacion.com.ar/ |
