Key link for Chile

Work will commence on a key new road tunnel connecting in Chile in 2001. The Chacabuco II tunnel will provide another road link between Santiago and the Andes mountain range along the Los Libertadores highway. This will improve Chile's connection with neighbouring Argentina as the highway runs to the border. The 2km tunnel will run parallel to the existing Chacabuco I tunnel, and will carry two lanes of traffic running towards Santiago. Once completed, the annual capacity of the route will increase by 5%, up from 8,500 vehicles/day at present. The aim is to also reduce the number of accidents along this stretch of the route and increase the speed through the tunnels by allowing single direction traffic. The works on the new tunnel will cost US$61 million and will include an emergency services depot between the two carriageways, lighting, ventilation, CCTV and electronic signalling. Once completed, Chacabuco I will be closed to carry out maintenance for six months, with the whole project due for completion in mid 2014.