Private vehicle fire reported on the Bogotá-Girardot highway during the return plan

This Sunday, April 17, the plan to return to Bogotá is being advanced after citizens left the city during Holy Week. The Volunteer Fire Department of Fusagasugá reported a vehicle fire on the Bogotá-Girardot highway, so there were major problems in traffic to reach the capital.

“We carried out vehicular fire care in Pr45 Alto de Canecas on the Bogotá-Girardot road, there are no injured people, a machine with 4 fire units was moved to the site,” the Fire Department wrote on its Twitter account. They also reported that the Transit and Transport Directorate of the Colombian National Police and the Vía 40 Express concession were present at the site.

The incident occurred in the morning and was related to the works being carried out in the Sumapaz tunnel. Due to the flames, the car had to be isolated on the side of the road and the authorities safeguarded the lives of the people who were in the area, so there were no casualties.

With regard to traffic, in Noticias Caracol some citizens showed their disagreement with respect to mobility in the return plan. “A lot of trancón, a lot of work. You pay the tolls and the road is back to nothing,” said one of the travelers. The same report shows the work in the Sumapaz tunnel, where only one lane is enabled to travel.

In fact, several closures were reported on the Bogotá-Girardot highway prior to the return plan, according to the newspaper El Tiempo. The Vía 40 Express concession enabled crossings to one lane in different sectors, including the tunnel already mentioned.

For his part, the Director of Traffic and Transport of the Police, Juan Alberto Libreros, spoke on Caracol Radio about the number of vehicles that were mobilized during the Major Week, which numbered 8′511,235. “15% more compared to Easter last year,” said the uniformed. With respect to Bogotá, the increase was 1% with 1′275,266 cars and “for the department of Cundinamarca, there were 2′395,437 vehicles, with an increase of 10%,” he added.

Return Plan in Bogota

The District Secretariat for Mobility implemented this Sunday, April 17, the reversible of the Seventh race, from 245th Street to 180th Street. The measure was carried out from 2:30 p.m. and runs until 8:00 p.m., in the north-south direction, to facilitate the entry of travelers to Bogotá.

“During the Return Plan on Easter Sunday, the Bogotá Transit and the Ministry of Mobility will have more than 30 fixed and 5 mobile checkpoints where safety and road accident prevention tasks will be carried out,” the entity said on Twitter.

It is important to remember that the Regional Pico y Placa will be in force, another of the mobility measures that will be put forward this Easter Sunday. From 12:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. the cars with even plates: 0, 2, 4, 6 and 8 will enter the city. From 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. entry will be enabled for those with odd plates: 1, 3, 5, 7 and 9.

Penalties for non-compliance with the Pico y Placa measure are stipulated in the National Traffic Code for infringement C.14: “Transit through restricted sites or at times prohibited by the competent authority”. The fine is this 2022 at $468,500. In addition, the vehicle will be immobilized.

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