Colombia key tunnel project – new completion date

A new completion date has been set for the La Linea Tunnel project in Colombia. The work should now be finished in late 2020, although the project was originally intended to be ready by late 2016. The various contracts to complete the Cruce de la Cordillera Central route will be awarded in April 2019 by the national road institute (Invias). The contracts will include strict measures to ensure that contractors will comply with all the terms of the deal. The Colombian Government previously allotted US$204.5 m
March 6, 2019 Read time: 2 mins

A new completion date has been set for the La Linea Tunnel project in Colombia. The work should now be finished in late 2020, although the project was originally intended to be ready by late 2016. The various contracts to complete the Cruce de la Cordillera Central route will be awarded in April 2019 by the national road institute (2812 Invias). The contracts will include strict measures to ensure that contractors will comply with all the terms of the deal. The Colombian Government previously allotted US$204.5 million to complete the work.

The project to build the tunnel has been plagued with problems and has suffered numerous delays, due to a wide range of reasons. The geology of the tunnel route was far more challenging than had been originally envisaged, requiring changes to the construction methods used. Firms previously working on the project have also suffered from shortages of financing, resulting in further delays and halts to progress.

Measuring 8.6km in length, the tunnel will be one of the longest in Latin America when complete. Challenges to its construction have also included the altitude of the portals, with the western end at 2,420m and the eastern end at 2,505m. The tunnel will replace a mountain pass that is not able to cope safely with the volumes of traffic it currently has to handle as it is too narrow and has too many sharp curves, as well as having insufficient capacity.

Road Structures

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Peru’s Oyón -Ambo Highway presents challenges
    August 30, 2022
    Peru’s Oyón-Ambo highway project represents a landmark in construction for the country, while facing significant technical challenges – Paula Chapple, editor of Carreteras Pan-Americana (CPA), writes
    Read More
  • Serbia’s pan-European Corridor X is in the slow lane
    October 23, 2017
    It’s been slow progress on Serbia’s Corridor X project. Gordon Feller reports. Back in the early 2000’s, the European Union undertook an ambitious programme to link the main cities of its south-eastern region. This involved connecting five key seaports – the Greek cities of Patras, Igoumenitsa, Piraeus and Thessaloniki as well as Romania’s Black Sea city of Constanta. Initially the plan involved two motorways across Greece. The first was a new 780km route including a branch to Ormenio on Greece’s north-eas
    Read More
  • Colombian road construction projects
    October 28, 2021
    Colombian road construction projects are being delivered.
    Read More
  • Norway’s record breaking undersea road tunnel
    February 25, 2015
    The world's deepest road tunnel is currently in construction near Stavanger in Norway but is only the prelude to even larger projects - report and photographs by Adrian Greeman. Norway's convoluted coastline of fjords and high mountains is famously scenic but also a major problem for transport and connections. The country has long experience of constructing tunnels as a result. Now a series of tunnels underway, or in design, around the oil industry city of Stavanger will stretch its skills more than usual.
    Read More

Highlighted Content