Venezuela: Main Highway to Caracas Airport Closed Indefinitely

By Larry Habegger | Permalink | No Comments | January 10th, 2006 | Trackback

The main highway that links Caracas with its Caribbean seaport and international airport has been closed, perhaps permanently, because a key bridge along the route developed structural fractures due to shifting land. Geologists have been warning since the 1980s that the bridge needed to be replaced but only stopgap measures were taken. Now the bridge is unsafe and out of service. The alternatives for reaching the city from the airport are unappealing: a two hour drive through Colonia Tovar; a two-to-three-hour drive over a twisting, poorly-maintained two-lane road; or a flight to a regional airport in Valencia and then an easier two-hour drive. The government plans to build a new highway to the coast but it will not be ready until 2010. A replacement bridge could be ready by 2007, and a temporary bypass may be ready within a month. The bulk of the country’s imports are transported along this highway, so the closure will have a major economic impact.

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