Invías allocates $42.8 billion pesos for critical Medellín-Bogotá highway maintenance

Colombia's National Infrastructure Institute (Invías) has announced a new investment exceeding 42.8 billion pesos, currently in the adjudication process, to maintain the vital Santuario-Caño Alegre stretch of the Medellín-Bogotá highway. This section, located in San Luis, has faced significant criticism in recent years due to its poor condition.

The funds are intended to enhance mobility, transitability, and road safety along this crucial corridor in eastern Antioquia, directly addressing the concerns and commitments made with local communities. According to Invías, six of the eight critical points prioritized through community dialogues have already been successfully intervened. Repaired sections include San Vicente (PR20+150), El Tesoro (PR21+250), Curva El Borojó (PR33+600), and two segments in El 90 (PR36+600 and PR37+000). The El Cedros sector (PR24+900) is also undergoing rehabilitation.

These maintenance tasks have utilized approximately 904 cubic meters of asphalt mix, covering about 2.04 kilometers of segmented intervention on the deteriorated pavement. The plan to complete the commitments continues on July 14, 2026, with the scheduled start of periodic maintenance work on the final two sectors: El Derrumbe (PR47+900) and El Santana (PR54+250). These areas will receive an additional 900 cubic meters of asphalt mix, completing the attention to all eight critical sections agreed upon with local residents.

This injection of funds from the national government arrives amid heightened tensions and serves as a response to an infrastructure crisis that has plagued transporters and regular users of the Medellín-Bogotá highway. The 135-kilometer stretch between El Santuario and Caño Alegre has been the subject of constant complaints regarding falling material, an alarming increase in traffic accidents, the generally poor state of the road, and a concerning lack of basic emergency services like ambulances and tow trucks. These issues have previously triggered significant protests, with transporters halting operations on at least two occasions in 2025.