One of Bogotá's busiest and most iconic bridges will soon be demolished by the Institute of Urban Development (IDU). This is the one located in the Venecia neighborhood, south of the capital, which connects the South Highway with Carrera 68.
The reasons for this work have to do with the construction of the capital's Metro. In that place will be the TransMilenio trunk that will allow those who travel on these buses to ride the metro trains, in a few years.
What's more, Claudia López's administration will carry out road improvement works in this sector, so it is expected that the works will last a long time. In this vein, citizens are advised to be prepared and take alternate routes in case of vehicular traffic.
According to the District, it will be in May when the demolition of the bridge will begin, as will the road restoration. This was announced by Diego Sánchez, director of the Urban Development Institute, who confirmed that once the bridge is down, the Mayor's Office will build two more to replace it.
These two new works will allow citizens and cars to travel and mobilize. However, the exact dates on which they will be ready are not known. The official expects it to be between 2 and 3 years, but there is nothing fixed.
“It is a slow process because the dismantling has to be done in parts to ensure mobility all the time along the southern highway and for race 68,” said the director of the IDU, in testimonies collected by the RCN Radio station.
It should be remembered that the announcement that the bridge will be demolished caused some controversy, given that at the end of 2021, the official confirmed to the newspaper El Espectador that they would not tear down the building, but would work to remodel it without such a drastic change.
Now, Diego Sánchez's announcement changed completely because, as already mentioned, he said that two bridges will be built “one for buses and a new bridge for private traffic,” he said.
Faced with this panorama, the capital's authorities informed drivers and pedestrians that, if they were going to mobilize in that sector, they will now have to do so in the streets of the Venecia neighborhood. “It is a slow process because we have to do the dismantling in parts to ensure mobility all the time along the southern highway and for race 68,” Sánchez reported.
Those who did not like this work were the neighbors of the neighborhood through which the cars will have to be diverted. Several of them told Noticias Uno that they are afraid of vehicular chaos, accidents and other situations that alter the tranquility that, so far, they claim to have. “We received letters from IDU and Transmilenio, warning that we have to deliver our properties by March 31,” Edwin Cifuentes, apartment merchants, told that news report.
It should be recalled that a few weeks ago, Claudia López referred to the construction of the Bogotá metro, answering to Gustavo Petro, without naming him, that it is ongoing and unstoppable, and that in the middle of the year the second line that will go to Engativa and Suba is expected to be contracted.
“No delays, no political disputes that will push us back, here we are moving forward. Bogotá is building the First Line of the Metro, this year it will have the resources for the Second Line and next year it will contract it. The Bogotá Metro is unstoppable,” said Mayor López a few weeks ago, assuring that it will not stop the works on this means of transport.
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