Skip to main content

Earthquake rocks Chilean highways

Chile's highway system has fared remarkably well considering the severity of the massive earthquake that struck the country a few days ago. This is a crucial factor in ensuring that emergency help, food and other aid can reach the worst affected area in the south of the country quickly. The Vespucio Norte highway collapsed and while the Costanera Norte route was slightly damaged, the Vespucio Sur and Autopista Central highways were unaffected.
May 31, 2012 Read time: 1 min
Chile's highway system has fared remarkably well considering the severity of the massive earthquake that struck the country a few days ago. This is a crucial factor in ensuring that emergency help, food and other aid can reach the worst affected area in the south of the country quickly.

The Vespucio Norte highway collapsed and while the Costanera Norte route was slightly damaged, the Vespucio Sur and Autopista Central highways were unaffected. Repairs to the worst affected highways, Vespucio Norte and Ruta 5 Sur, are expected to cost some US$200-250 million however. The repair work may take up to 6-8 months to carry out.

Related Content

  • Weigh in motion systems aid overweight vehicle detection
    July 12, 2012
    Modern weighing equipment helps road operators tackle the costly business of road damage caused by overloaded trucks as Patrick Smith reports. Overloading of commercial vehicles has a major impact on the life expectancy of road networks. The cost of premature road failure and repairs is a major burden on many governments particularly in developing countries where this problem diverts vital funding that could otherwise be spent on health and education.
  • US city of Vancouver approves new I-5 bridge
    July 18, 2022
    Vancouver in the US state of Washington and Portland in the state of Oregon are aiming for a new road bridge with the possibility of accommodating light rail transport.
  • Ground penetrating radar used to investigate tunnel deterioration
    May 13, 2015
    Using ground penetrating radar to determine reason for serious pavement settling in Kentucky-Tennessee tunnel Just a few years after the opening of the Cumberland Gap Tunnel, highway officials noticed moderate to severe settling of the continuously reinforced concrete pavement. The mountain tunnel provides an important link between Kentucky and Tennessee along US25E and the problem looked serious, with many voids discovered beneath the pavement surface. To investigate the problems, the Kentucky Transpor
  • Plants for Kazakhstan
    November 28, 2022
    CITIC Construction is now using no less than five Lintec CSM4000 asphalt mixing plants for road construction works in Kazakhstan. The Chinese contractor said that these units were selected as they met its needs. The containerised design of the Lintec CSM4000 asphalt plant allows ease of transport, fast installation and also ensures protection for core components.