The National Coordinator for Disaster Reduction (CONRED) warns of moderate, severe structural damage and the risk of landslides in a Mixco section, on the Inter -American Route.
In August 2024, a team of Guatevisión and Press Free News He took a tour between kilometers 21 and 24 of the Inter -American Route, where damage to the asphalt tape and soil erosion were observed, in a section that is traveled daily by more than 100,000 vehicles.
The Conred carried out an evaluation, and despite the recommendations issued, to date the mitigation works have not been carried out, which has caused greater risk and more erosion. This Friday, June 13, the Conred staff held a new tour to follow up on the vulnerability situation.
In the first evaluation, the entity issued a technical report after evaluating the road section between kilometers 21 and 24 of the CA-01 West route, Mixco. The inspection took place on August 6, 2024, in response to a request from the Mitigation Department.
According to the DMI-1189-2024 document, prepared by the engineer Edgar Fernando Robles Alonzo, significant damage was identified in the road infrastructure, as well as conditions that increase the vulnerability to landslides and erosion of the land.
COVIAL POSTURE
The Ministry of Communications was consulted on the lack of attention to the recommendations of the technical study, to which the route continues to show greater susceptibility and damage. The spokesman of the Road Conservation Executing Unit (COVIAL), Luisiño Sánchez, said the work is about to begin.
“Covial of the Ministry of Communications informs that it has carried out a technical inspection from the moment the damage to the extension of the longitudinal gutter between kilometers 21 to 25 of Route 01 western was reported. After complying with the different phases established by the Law of Contracting and Regulations, the repair works were awarded to the construction company M. Although several steps are still pending to formalize the hiring, the work could begin in August, the work could begin in August. affirmed.
María Paula Salguero, spokeswoman for Conred, recalled that in June 2022 the mitigation personnel evaluated the section, where damage is mainly observed in the gutters, in addition to erosion that affects the pavement.
He added that the recommendations have already issued, among which the maintenance of the section, a plan for monitoring and identifying points with the risk of landslides.
He commented that this June 13 made an inspection of the section due to a series of reports on the state of the road, with emphasis on the sinking occurred in km 24.5. He added that they are looking for a new update on the state of the route, where mitigation works have already been carried out.
Main findings
Conred underlines that findings are the result of a visual inspection within the framework of an emergency, so they should not be considered as a conclusive opinion. In that sense, the authorities corresponding to taking immediate actions to avoid greater risks to infrastructure and nearby communities urgently urged.
Tread folder damage:
- Longitudinal cracks and fissures, fractured slabs and loss of support at the base of the pavement were observed, possibly due to excess vehicular load or erosion.
Drain obstruction:
- Several transverse drains and collection boxes were blocked by sediments and solid waste, which affected rainwater flow.
Severe erosion of gutters:
- In points such as km 22+500, loss of the lining reached the base of the pavement. In addition, structural damage to a wall of gavions were recorded in km 22+600, and in km 23+500, a house is exposed to landslides in the slope.
Risk of detachment:
- The analysis concludes that the area presents high susceptibility to mass movements, with a history documented since 2011.
Recommendations
Given this, the authorities were recommended, both of the Municipality of Mixco as Ministry of Communications, Infrastructure and Housingthrough COVIALtake measures to mitigate the risks, including:
- Reconstruction and Preventive Maintenance of the affected section, with emphasis on drainage cleaning and pavement repair.
- Technical Inspection of hydraulic works to avoid future obstructions.
- Application of government agreement 05-2010which establishes the responsibility of Ministry of Communications to keep the road network in optimal conditions.
- Mitigation studies oriented to prevent new landslides, based on the Central American Highway Maintenance Manual.
Situation in the slope
The Conred He also performed a technical evaluation at kilometer 24 of the Ca-1 West Routewhere he identified a possible risk due to erosion in a slope 75 meters high. In that stretch, a wall of land nestled as part of the project was built EM-007-2022. The work was executed by a company and ended in February 2023, with a cost of Q17 million 999 thousand 36.50.
However, several points in the upper part have already registered erosion, mainly due to the installation of a pipe that, apparently, was installed by a third party and caused damage to the parallel gutters to the edge of the slope.
Upcoming actions
According to Covial information, between June 16 and 20 Joint inspection between the project supervisor and the regional supervisor to determine the necessary actions after the report received by the Conred.
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