The MTC, through Provías Nacional, recently approved the final file for the profile review of the New Daniel Alcides Carrion Central Highway created by PMO Vías, the Provías Project Management Office and the preparation of the government-to-government agreement between Peru and France. . The route parallels the current central highway, leaving Aet at the height of La Oroya and returning to the road.
Six parts are connected
The project, which will be the first high-speed mountain highway in Peru, estimates a road length of about 185 kilometers with two lanes in each direction. The section includes 30 kilometers of tunnels, 19 kilometers of viaducts and eight entrances and exits. According to the estimates of the companies involved, it is possible to go from Ate to La Oroya in less than two and a half hours for light vehicles and three and a half hours for heavy vehicles. It is estimated that the works will start in 2025 and will be delivered in 2031.
According to the traffic models carried out for this work, the vehicular load on the existing Central Expressway is estimated to be around 12,000 vehicles per day by 2031. Projections for the year 2051 state that this vehicle load could reach 23,000 vehicles. per day. In this way, the new program will directly benefit more than 10 million Peruvians. Likewise, it is presented as the most important project for Peru’s GDP by accelerating the logistics costs of transportation.
The line, known as the Green Corridor, will allow metropolitan Lima to connect with the central Amazon region macro region: Huanuco, Pasco, Junin, Ucayali, Huancavelica and Lima. In this way, the distribution of the Lima wholesale market will be improved, exports will be facilitated and tourism will be opened in Huarochirí, Nor Yauyos-Cochas Reserve, Mantaro Valley, etc.
After reviewing and approving the profile of this road, the first phase of the mega-project has been closed. “The next step is to start a detailed engineering study (EDI) that will allow the completion of the final outline of the road structure, which will reduce the risks of the work and improve each structure to create the first mountain highway. The country will have”, noted the MTC.
More agile processes
Trade PMO spoke to engineer Marc Sassande, manager of the central highway project for Vías, two French companies he represents – the Egis group and Setec – which have built more than 10,000 kilometers of highway in several works internationally. They were also part of mega projects like the Channel Tunnel.
Said corporations have the function of advising the Peruvian state on this work –Fully funded and implemented by national organizations-, using untraceable contract methods “Under the framework of State Procurement ActSasande explained. “PMO brings slightly different practices and project management, [estamos] Under the International Federation of Consulting Engineers (FIDIC) model of contract“, said.
The engineer insisted on this model “Let’s speed it up [los procesos] Because they are more agile contracts, it allows the fulfillment of an objective within a certain period of time”. This is without dismissing important processes such as environmental, archaeological and human impact studies. In fact, the number of studies or procedures is not reduced, but they are carried out simultaneously.
Besides advising Provias and MTC on project engineering, PMO Vias also has contracting authority. “We use the highest compliance standards to avoid this type of problem [relacionados a actos de corrupción] With a company that has a complicated history. Getting to know a little more about the Peruvian and Latin American contextSasande said.
Studies and Technology
The manager of PMO Vías indicated that eleven different sections were analyzed to select the approved route this month. “We have analyzed 23 in terms of technical, socioeconomic, environmental, archaeological, cost and feasibility.” to bet the best option, he pointed out.
Sassante highlighted that a modern system has been used to create a traffic model – more accurate and reliable than a plan, a method commonly used in the country – to know the almost exact impact of the work on the area of influence. 55 thousand square km. This measurement allows us to know the effect of the works on the traffic in the area of influence and the benefits of the already opened road. This includes accurate measurements of vehicle fleet growth and population growth.
More security
The central highway is one of the most accident-prone roads in the country. In 2022 alone, 1,116 accidents involving 1,545 vehicles took place on this route, according to the National Watchdog for Road Safety. This equates to three accidents per day, resulting in 637 deaths and 803 injuries. The interviewee highlighted that user safety is a key objective in the development of a new highway.
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According to the engineer, environmental and archeological studies have been carried out.This specification is never done for grid, in theory it is done for a solid engineering course [pero] Here is what we have [buscamos] Above all is to minimize risks in the scale of the work”.
The manager pointed out that the final extension may have specific deviations in case of problems. “The good thing about our system is that it is a non-existent profile [estrictamente] Certainty means that we can fix any vulnerability that we haven’t identified because the error might occur. [En tal caso] We can fix it along the way”.
Positive balance
According to the manager of PMO Vías, one of the strengths of this huge project is that it will have little impact on the built properties. In fact, most of this future highway passes through bare land.”That is, although they are earlier impacts, the buildings are not”, he emphasized. Currently, about 100 buildings are being treated – located in Ate and Cieneguilla – that will be affected..
“A project [como este] It’s not done in the cloud. There are implications. But these hundred buildings [no se comparan] What has been seen in other projects with thousands of assets”, argued the engineer. Similarly, he asserted that it would be incorrect for these properties to correspond to schools, schools or others of public interest.
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The new central highway is expected to create various benefits in terms of trade between Lima and the regions. Image: via PMO
Sasande also highlighted the positive response of the farming communities living in the areas where the future section of the Central Highway would pass. “We are doing all the drilling, environmental studies, and we have all the permits to access the communities’ land. They fully appreciate the advantage of the highway […] Very good quality for quick access [a la ciudad] and trade, [así como] Grow your community”, shared the interview.
Even the engineer said that they would work on a structure “Never Done in the Country: Specific Wildlife Trails. A linear infrastructure [como lo será la autopista] You can cut the environment into two parts. Therefore, infrastructures such as bridges are made, for example, so that cattle can cross. This also applies to wild animals, so that they can cross without running, resulting in fewer accidents.”.
