Colombia tunnel construction contract commencing

Driving work has commenced for Colombia’s Toro Tunnel project. The tunnel will measure 9.8km long and is located in Colombia’s Antioquia Department, with the completion expected in 2022. The project is costing US$650.5 million and the link is intended to provide a link between the Autopista al Mar 1 and Autopista al Mar 2 highways. When complete the tunnel will also cut the travel time between Medellin and Uraba to four hours.
February 5, 2018 Read time: 2 mins
Driving work has commenced for Colombia’s Toyo Tunnel project. The tunnel will measure 9.8km long and is located in Colombia’s Antioquia Department, with the completion expected in 2022. The project is costing US$650.5 million and the link is intended to provide a link between the Autopista al Mar 1 and Autopista al Mar 2 highways. When complete the tunnel will also cut the travel time between Medellin and Uraba to four hours.


The tunnel forms part of a wider project to improve infrastructure links in Antioquia Department, with work to 18 tunnels and 30 bridges planned to be complete by 2028. Construction for a stretch of road from Santa Fe to the start of the Toyo Tunnel is expected to start in 2019. The tender for this stretch will be held shortly and will be managed by Colombia's National Road Institute (2812 Invias). The infrastructure programme also includes carrying out road works from Giraldo to Canasgordas, with this due for completion in 2023.

Construction of the La Quiebra tunnel, also in Antioquia department, is now underway. This work is costing $223.5 million and the tunnel forms part of the Vias del Nus road project. The tunnel will measure 4.1km long and will cut journey times from Porcesito to Cisneros by 30 minutes when it is complete. The road project includes a 24.3km-long dual-carriageway between Pradera and Porcesito and the addition of a third lane along 2.7km at San Jose del Nus-Alto de Dolores road. It also includes rebuilding a 35.6km section from Cisneros to Alto de Dolores. Once the project is complete it will boost travel connections from Medellin to Valle de Aburra, reducing the journey time from 3.5 hours to 2 hours.

Road Structures

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • FCC heads group that will build Toyo Tunnel in Colombia
    November 6, 2015
    Spanish environmental services, infrastructure and water group FCC has secured a €392 deal to design, build, operate and maintain the 10km Toyo Tunnel in Urabá Port, Colombia. The Government of Antioquia awarded the project to the consortium in which Madrid-based FCC has a 40% share and a group of local business people hold 60%. The tunnel is around 80km from Medellin, the capital of Colombia’s mountainous Antioquia province. The US$426 million contract is for 10 years, during which design and constru
    Read More
  • ANI transfers operation of Guillermo Gaviria Correa to Mar 1 Devimar
    July 6, 2016
    The Colombian department of Antioquia has transferred operation of the Guillermo Gaviria Correa road connection to the National Infrastructure Agency (ANI). ANI will, in turn, cede the concession to the Mar 1 Devimar consortium. The road, named after the assassinated governor of Antioquia, runs between the municipalities of Medellin and San Jerónimo and connects Medellin to the Uraba Gulf, part of the Caribbean Sea. Gaviria, a Nobel Peace Prize nominee, was kidnapped by guerrillas and held captive for
    Read More
  • Colombia: Toyo Tunnel award to be made in September
    July 15, 2015
    The contract award for Columbia’s 9.75km Toyo Tunnel project will be made on September 28, according to Columbian media. The tunnel, costing almost US$760, will be part of a new 39km road between Santa Fe de Antioquia and Canasgordas. World Highways reported in January that the central government will contribute $216 million towards the project, the regional government of Antioquia department will contribute $337 million and the Medellin city government will pitch in with $212 million. Columbia’s N
    Read More
  • Construction completion for Colombia concession contracts
    December 14, 2017
    Colombia’s massive road and highway development programme is still moving ahead, with a series of major concession projects due for completion by 2020. A consortium titled Via al Mar is on track to finish construction of the Cartagena-Barranquilla highway in August 2019, for which the company has a 25-year concession agreement. The tender process for the final stretches of the Ruta del Sol II highway will commence shortly.
    Read More

Highlighted Content