New tunnel link proposed for Colombia

Even as work continues on La Linea tunnel in Colombia, the country’s government has received a proposal for an additional tunnel link. A consortium made up of Colombian companies and Italian firms has suggested building a new tunnel to link Quindio and Tolima. Odinsa, Mincivil, Impregilo and Salini are involved in the consortium and have suggested a PPP as being a possible model under which to construct the link, which could cost in the order of US$531 million and would be 8.5km long. The economic case for
July 23, 2013 Read time: 2 mins
Even as work continues on La Linea tunnel in Colombia, the country’s government has received a proposal for an additional tunnel link. A consortium made up of Colombian companies and Italian firms has suggested building a new tunnel to link Quindio and Tolima. 3214 Odinsa, Mincivil, 3149 Impregilo and Salini are involved in the consortium and have suggested a PPP as being a possible model under which to construct the link, which could cost in the order of US$531 million and would be 8.5km long. The economic case for this new route has yet to be made clear as the tunnel would lie comparatively close to the La Linea tunnel.

Progress with the current La Linea tunnel project in Colombia has been slow due to a series of delays. This link will connect Calarca and Cajamarca in the central Corderilla of the Colombian Andes and at around 8.6km, will be the longest road tunnel in Latin America when complete. When open to traffic La Linea tunnel will reduce travel times along Route 40 between Bogota and Cali and also the port of Buenaventura. This difficult project has met with numerous challenges, from technical, financial and legal standpoints. Altitude has not made the project any easier either and one tunnel portal is at 2,400m above sea level while the other is at 2,500m. However when it is complete the benefit to the Colombian economy will be significant as it will improve transport and cut accidents by replacing a treacherous existing route. From an engineering standpoint, the opening of La Linea tunnel will be a significant achievement for Colombia’s construction industry.
Road Structures

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Underground routes for highways
    July 20, 2012
    Increasingly, and where possible, roads are being built in tunnels often for environmental reasons, writes Patrick Smith As part of the new M7 motorway development in the southwest of Ireland, the four-lane route crosses the River Shannon near Limerick, before it flows into the Atlantic. Centrepiece of the 10km long Limerick Southern Ring Road is the required tunnelling (675m long), which including the north and south entrance and exit ramps, means it will be 915m long. Completion of the work is planned for
    Read More
  • Egypt’s road programme is now restarting
    February 20, 2014
    Egypt is developing its road network – local reporting and images by Egypt correspondent Mohammed Elsayed Tantawy. Egypt is now gearing up its road construction activity, with a view to reducing congestion and improving traffic flow. The country’s main highway connecting capital Cairo with the port city of Alexandria has already seen a major widening programme, but other important routes are also now being upgraded and improved. The road development programme started in earnest some years ago but was delaye
    Read More
  • Work to start on Fehmarn Belt link to start in autumn
    April 4, 2019
    Construction of the Fehmarn Belt Fixed Link between Denmark and Germany should start this autumn for completion in 2028, according to the Danish government. Danish company Femern, which is responsible for the construction of the link, will begin negotiations with two contractor consortiums for the first of the project’s works which will start on the Danish side. A tunnel element fabrication yard and a works harbour must be built in Rødbyhavn, as well as a tunnel portal on Lolland. An autumn start wou
    Read More
  • Bertha restarts work on Seattle’s Alaskan Highway Viaduct project
    September 19, 2016
    Bertha, the tunnelling machine that is making its way under the US city of Seattle, has restarted work after nearly three weeks of scheduled maintenance downtime. The machine has been sitting more than 51m underground while crews replaced of 14 large cutting tools, according to the Washington State Department of transportation. Each tool weighs just under 275kg. Bertha - as the SR 99 tunnelling machine is called – is working on the Alaskan Way Viaduct Replacement Program. The Alaskan Way is an elevate
    Read More

Highlighted Content