The effects of the rains in the first stage of the winter of 2024 caused damage to one of the road circuits with the highest demand of the users and for the productive and logistics chain both terrestrial and sea on the southern coast, which occurred at kilometer 44 of Palín-Escuintla highway, which was rehabilitated last Friday, March 28 and nine months passed for its full operation.
This historical antecedent involved impacts and losses at the particular level in the public and private sectors, and in general there were a series of circulation complications through the sector that even caused breakdowns to the cars and in the worst case accidents with fatal balances, so that the positions that ask to prioritize the maintenance of the terrestrial system of roads were increased.
No one expects the ravages to cause the rains of this winter to repeat what happened in km 44 on the Palín-Secla highway and that aggravates mobility because of the lack of a real programmed maintenance by the competent authority, according to the sources consulted.
Actors who participate in the logistics chain and network users make a mapping of the routes that must be prioritized for maintenance, so they suggest due attention to the sections, the bump, cleaning of the water channels, signage to make them optimal.
Key connections
Raúl Bouscayrol, president of the Guatemalan Chamber of Industry (CIG), lists a circuit to which the roads that lead to the main connection routes, to ports, customs, and the main logistics corridors must be maintained.
In general, he mentioned the departure of Villa Nueva-Matitlán; the Route to the Pacific in the kilometers that previously worked the Palín-Escuintla highway; the North CA-09 route; The CA-02 West and in particular as a reference of Km 110 to 144.
“What is crucial to highlight is that we not only need maintenance, but also urgent investment”
Raúl Bouscayrol, president of the Guatemala Chamber of Industry
He also said that there are other sections towards Retalhuleu, Alta Verapaz, Quetzaltenango and the borders.
He clarified that “what is crucial to highlight is that we not only need maintenance, but also urgent investment,” in reference to the approval winter.
Productive circuit
In that same perspective, Carlos David Steiger, analyst and logistics consultant of the Guatemalan Association of Exporters (AGEXPORT), indicated that the routes that must be prioritized are those that connect to the ports and borders, so “it is always important to consider them.”
Like the president of the CIG, it agrees that the South CA-9 to the Pacific and North CA-9 to the Atlantic should be intervened; as well as the CA-2 West section towards Frontera Tecún Umán and CA-2 East to Ciudad Pedro de Alvarado, which are the largest logistics corridors in the country.
Héctor Fajardo, director of the Central American Chamber of Transporters (Catransca), explained that as a transport sector they have carried out several analysis of the maintenance that roads should receive at the beginning of this winter and one of the conclusions is that economic routes and productive development must be met as priority.
He classified as urgent those sections that absorb and support the circulation of a large amount of heavy traffic and are the Central American routes in the first place, national routes in second place and departmental routes as third place.
He stressed that it is not that the other routes are not important for economic agents, but it is proposed that on these roads all the production and distribution of goods destined for internal centers with greater consumption or where the largest populations are located or for export.
“It is of interest to maintain tourist routes and for the ports of the country where exports leave and the imports are received via maritime (multimodal system) that move internally, through road transport”
Héctor Fajardo, director of the Central American Chamber of Transporters
In addition, that the connections on the South Coast are, the North Coast with the border with Mexico and Central America, which is the natural logistics corridor of the region, the main route that allows the market to be served with goods from original products from Guatemala.
On the other hand, it is of interest to maintain tourist routes and for the ports of the country where exports come out and the imports are received via maritime (multimodal system) that move internally, through road transport.
“That is why we think that these should be the priority routes; there are many of them that have unfinished sections, for work that should be executed, but that have been paralyzed over time,” said Fajardo.
Attend prevention and avoid collapses
The consulted were asked why is maintenance prior to the beginning of the rains? And the coincidence is to avoid the interruption that was experienced since June 2024 on the Palín-Secuintla highway.
“It is essential that maintenance works be carried out prior to the beginning of winter to perform the preventive actions that avoid the collapse of the road network. The soils are saturated when the rains begin and if the respective maintenance was not previously performed, there is a high possibility of having the sinks, collapses of bridges and landslides that we have had in recent years, ”warned the president of the CIG.
In addition, he stressed that the rainy season makes it difficult to make repairs at the time, since the materials used for repairs should be applied to dry soils.
Bouscayrol explained that they know that the MICIVI has its connecting plan, in which the road infrastructure is one of the work axes are contemplated the improvement, construction and maintenance of roads, main, secondary, tertiary, bridges and gray work.
“We call that this plan is implemented with the urgency that this critical issue merits. The Government has the budgetary resources to carry out the interventions, so we exhort that it acts preventively and not reactively as it happened with the km.44, in which more than new months had to pass so that a section as important as the route to Palín-Escuintla was restored,” he said.
“The routes that must be prioritized are those that connect to the ports and borders”
Carlos David Steiger, Agexport Analyst
He concluded that, it is important that the corresponding authorities contribute to the cleaning of sewerage, repair of cracks, potholes, adequate signage and prevention of landslides or undercuts in places where the rains are intense and that due to the topography of the country they are imminent.
Maintain productive system
Steiger stressed that the importance is due because they connect with the main points of entry and exit of foreign trade. On the other hand, they are sections that have not received any maintenance in recent years, so deterioration has been increasing and there is a strong need to work bumps due to cracks, or sections that are completely destroyed.
Similarly, cleaning both drains and gutters to avoid flooding, and finely reviewing the conditions of route signaling to minimize the risk in the mobilization of transport units and tourists.
Recommended in dry season
The Catransca manager reiterated that all construction activity in the road network is important to execute it in the dry season, since in winter the humidity conditions complicate the work to be carried out, the costs and can affect the quality of the works carried out.
“We believe that prior to starting the rainy season, it should have attended that part. There must be permanent work such as cleaning the right of track that includes gutters, sewage and a side of the rolling folders, because it is there when it begins to be damaged when the drainage is to cover and that the water is looking for how it circulates and sometimes it goes to the center of the road that generates the damage that over time they become. Route, ”said Fajardo.
He concluded that this is the reason for why maintenance work has to be done in the dry season.
Work fronts
The Ministry of Communications, Infrastructure and Housing (CIV) announced its position in terms of the maintenance program, as well as the number of kilometers that need intervention.
He explained that in 2025, with the execution of the Annual National Plan for the Conservation of the Road Network that is in charge of the Road Conservation Executing Unit (COVIAL), it has been contemplated to attend six thousand 368.04 kilometers of pavement in 85 bump projects and 85 cleaning projects.
In addition, it has been scheduled to attend four thousand 843.02 kilometers of dirt that include 72 projects.
Care and Emergency Contracts
The Civ was also consulted on the maintenance prior to the beginning of the winter in the sections identified as priorities, to which he replied: “The projects to hire as part of the Annual Maintenance Plan 2025, have an important functionality both for the conservation of the road network and for emergency care raised for the rainy season in our country.”
“With the execution of the Annual National Plan for the Conservation of the Road Network that is in charge of the Road Conservation Executing Unit, it has been contemplated to attend six thousand 368.04 kilometers of pavement in 85 pothole projects”
Ministry of Communications
They indicated that, in terms of the work of cleaning the right of track, these will allow to maintain in full season of rainfall, longitudinal gutters; transverse pipes; Clean and liberated receiving boxes of waste or weeds that can obstruct the correct circulation of rainwater.
On the pumping of paved routes, they will be programmed in the cannula or in spaces where the climatic conditions are favorable, taking into account that the presence of rainfall in the country tends to be irregular, allowing to work in different regions in which there is no rainfall.
They concluded that the panorama is positive, since, unlike previous years, in which there were no active projects, for this year there will eventualities