| Work Detail |
Rolando Figueroa was with the companies that are resuming work in Vista Alegre. They will pave the road in January. "Wont they arrive before then?" he asked.
Route 7 was left unfinished and is cut off by gravel. There are no roundabouts and there have even been fatal accidents.
Route 7 was left unfinished and is cut off by gravel. There are no roundabouts and there have even been fatal accidents.
Claudio Espinoza
The reactivation of the work on Route 7, in the area of ??Centenario and Vista Alegre, which is missing a roundabout, signage and around 200 meters of gravel to be paved, could be resumed at the end of January, according to what was stated by the UTE, Rovella Carranza-CN Sapag.
Governor Rolando Figueroa himself went to supervise the work, on the occasion of the anniversary of Vista Alegre, and also went to speed up the paving work in a section. "Before January... wont they arrive before then?" the governor said in the middle of the road, together with workers and company officials.
"Were going to try and do everything possible. We had some complications with the quarries in the area, some tariffs...", the worker replied.
Governor Rolando Figueroa supervised the start of work on Route 7.
Governor Rolando Figueroa supervised the start of work on Route 7.
The 200 meters of gravel road are a real nuisance for motorists and also for the traffic that travels every day to Vaca Muerta and that they encounter on that stretch, and an obstacle in terms of time, in addition to the danger that a broken road implies. Some sections of the road are not open, and traffic is going back and forth on two lanes.
Route 7: oil traffic and towards Mari Menuco
During these months, it is also a route used by local tourism, that is, by the hundreds of people who flock to Lake Marie Menuco and Los Barreales due to the heat.
"We are working in this sector to complete the internal security part, the curbs and the reception area, beyond the technical modifications that were made to be able to properly survey all the points and not make mistakes. We are quite advanced," the company indicated.
The president of the Neuquén Provincial Road Authority, José Dutch, reported on the progress that has been made on a route whose work is highly desired and which is a strategic route for the entire Vaca Muerta area, as is the case of Route 7.
"We visited the project, together with the governor (Rolando Figueroa), which had been halted for a year and which, due to the renegotiation with the National Highway Authority, allowed the transfer to the province and thus the work could be resumed," said Dutch.
The abandoned section of Route 7 is at the access to Vista Alegre.
The abandoned section of Route 7 is at the access to Vista Alegre.
Claudio Espinoza
added that “after visiting the project and seeing the state it was in, we signed a new contract with the company and so we were able to start it. The truth is that it is a long-awaited project. It is in the heart of Vaca Muerta. It connects the entire part of Neuquén capital with the Centenario and Vista Alegre areas and goes to the Añelo area.”
The official highlighted the progress in the negotiations that will allow the work to be completed within a period of 7 months. “We hope to be able to finish it before that time. The company is already working on the site and today we made the first site visit.”
A project that has been on hold since 2023
The works include the completion of the doubling of the roadway, roundabouts and lighting, among other aspects. The work had been halted in December 2023 due to the lack of committed national financing.
After several months of management, Governor Rolando Figueroa managed to transfer the work from the national to the provincial sphere and arranged the necessary financing to resume it, and it is expected that the work can be completed in 2025.
This route, along with Route 51, is part of one of the main road corridors in Neuquén and is essential for the communities and for the development of the fruit and hydrocarbon industries. They link the provincial capital with Centenario, Vista Alegre -even reaching as far as Lake Mari Menuco- and allow access to San Patricio del Chañar and Loma La Lata, through the junction of Route 51 with Provincial Route 8. |
