Paso Internacional Los Libertadores

Los Libertadores Pass
Switchbacks on the Chilean side of the pass
Interactive map of Los Libertadores Pass
Elevation3,200 m (10,500 ft)
Third Approach
LocationArgentina–Chile border
RangePrincipal Cordillera, Andes
The Chilean tunnel entrance in winter

The Paso Internacional Los Libertadores, also called Cristo Redentor, is a mountain pass in the Andes between Argentina and Chile. It is the main transport route between Chile's Valparaíso Region and Mendoza Province in Argentina.

Geography

From the Argentine side the route to the pass is a slow, gentle incline until entering a tunnel at approximately 3,200 meters (10,500 feet) elevation. On the Chilean side the slope has a far steeper grade, and the road descends down a long series of switchbacks to lower elevations.

History

Opened in 1980, the Tunnel of Christ the Redeemer (Spanish: Túnel Cristo Redentor) is 3,080 m (10,105 ft) long and serves as an important land crossing between Chile and Argentina. At the middle of the tunnel is the national border, which is the termini of Chile Route 60 and Argentina Route 7. The path can be closed during winter because of heavy snows blocking both ends and the threat of rockfall.

Its name comes from the four-ton Christ the Redeemer of the Andes (Cristo Redentor de los Andes) statue placed in 1904 near the Uspallata Pass at an elevation of 3,832 m (12,572 ft). The pass was the highest point of the road before the opening of the tunnel lowered the maximum elevation by 600 m (1,969 ft), eliminated 65 switchbacks, and shortened the route by 10 km (6 mi).

On 19 September 2013, nearly 15,000 Chileans got stranded on the Argentine side when the pass had to be closed for 10 hours because of freezing temperatures and between 40 and 50 centimeters of snow.[1][2]

2016 border complex modernization

Since the 1990s the crossing has suffered from chronic congestion, which by some estimates cost roughly US$1.5 million in lost tourism and freight-transport revenue.[3] In February 2016 the concessionaire Nuevo Complejo Fronterizo Los Libertadores S.A., a unit of the Spanish construction group ACS, began work on a new border-control complex, with an investment of close to US$90 million.[3] The new facilities were planned for a site roughly 300 meters from the existing complex, in the Llano La Calavera sector, on a plot of more than three hectares, and were to include some 25,000 square meters of infrastructure for vehicle inspection, a Carabineros de Chile sub-station, parking areas, restrooms, waste-disposal systems, and staff housing.[3] Completion was originally projected for May 2019, under a twelve-year concession contract.[3][4]

Alternative proposed tunnels

In order to ease the dependence on the only tunnel in the area and to permit year-round crossing, two lower tunnels have been proposed. One of them is the Túnel Juan Pablo II ("John Paul II Tunnel"), which would be constructed at an altitude of between 2,250 and 2,720 m (7,382 and 8,924 ft), 20 km (12 mi) long, to join the towns of Horcones, Argentina and Juncal, Chile.

Another proposed tunnel, named Paso Las Leñas, at an elevation of 2,050 m (6,726 ft) and 13 km (8 mi) of length, would connect El Sosneado in Argentina (near San Rafael) and Machalí, Chile.

The Aconcagua Bi-Oceanic railway is a proposal for a 52-kilometre-long (32 mi) railway base tunnel under this pass.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Nearly 15,000 Chileans Stranded at Paso Internacional Los Libertadores Border Crossing". ilovechile.cl. 2013-09-21. Archived from the original on 2013-12-15.
  2. ↑ "Caos en Paso Los Libertadores". 24horas.cl. 2013-09-23. Archived from the original on 2013-12-15. Retrieved 2016-12-20.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Parte ceremonia del adiós de saturado paso Libertadores". Cámara Aduanera de Chile (in Spanish). Valparaíso, Chile. Archived from the original on April 7, 2017. Retrieved April 6, 2017.
  4. ↑ "Complejos Fronterizos Chile – Complejo Los Libertadores". Pasos Fronterizos, Government of Chile (in Spanish).
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