Construction of the ‘La Virgen’ interchange, of the Vía Yuma project in Magdalena Medio was completed

1. The work facilitates vehicular traffic in Barrancabermeja and connects directly with the Troncal del Magdalena Medio.
2. There are 15 kilometers of dual highway fully connected to the service of the country.
3. 95% of the 260 workers who participated in the project were local labor.

Ecopetrol reports that yesterday the construction of the ‘La Virgen’ interchange was completed, a work that is part of the Vía Yuma project and that facilitates vehicular traffic towards the Ruta del Cacao and the Troncal del Magdalena Medio, and which will allow savings of at least 28 kilometers of route to road users.

The infrastructure work, located at kilometer 8 on the road that leads from Barrancabermeja to Bucaramanga, is made up of three bridges, one 35 meters long, and two 10 meters, each, plus 4.4 kilometers of road axes, lighting system and complementary signaling and urban planning works such as empradization and water management.

Heavy cargo traffic to Barrancabermeja will save 28 kilometers of travel, because it will no longer have to reach the La Lizama district to continue its transit to other parts of the country, through the Magdalena Medio Trunk.

“As executors of the Vía Yuma project, we are satisfied with the progress of the work thanks to the joint work of all the entities that contribute to its construction to make this common dream of providing Barrancabermeja with a road system that allows communication with the Ruta del Cacao. and the Magdalena Medio Trunk, which contributes to improving the competitiveness of this important region of the country ”, said Jürgen Loeber, Vice President of Projects and Drilling at Ecopetrol.

The works of the interchange began in November 2019 and its construction was suspended for almost two months due to the mandatory preventive isolation decreed by the National Government as a measure to face the COVID-19 pandemic. It was resumed in May of this year with strict biosafety protocols to avoid affecting the 260 workers (average) who participated in its execution, with 95% local workforce.

“Today is a very important day for the connectivity and development of Barrancabermeja, the construction works of the La Virgen Interchange on Vía Yuma, which connects the District with the entire country, have been completed in record time. An important work that adds to the great commitment to commercial, industrial and agricultural development, which we make available to all, thanks to the joint work between the District Mayor’s Office, the Government of Santander, Ecopetrol and INVÍAS ”, said the mayor of Barrancabermeja, Alfonso Eljach.

The interchange had a total cost of $ 38 billion and was executed by the Consorcio Vial Magdalena Medio, made up of the companies LATINCO S.A. and HB Estructuras S.A.S.