President Nayib Bukele inaugurated the Claudia Lars peripheral, which is a mega-road project that is 10.8 kilometers long, part of the detour to San Juan Opico, on the road that leads to Santa Ana and ends at the road to Sonsonate, at the turnoff to Sacacoyo. The peripheral goes through the municipalities of Ciudad Arce, Colón, San Juan Opico, and Sacacoyo.
This project is part of the road mobility plan developed by the government of El Salvador, in addition, the work will bring development to the western part of the country. The Salvadoran president explained that users of the Claudia Lars peripheral will save 75% of their travel time.
“This work alone is going to benefit two million Salvadorans. Both the people who live in the municipalities along the route, plus all the people who travel. We are decongesting traffic from Sonsonate, the traffic of the Las Flores route, the port of Acajutla, and trips to Guatemala” — he said.
President Bukele explained that, in addition to the new highway, there will be two complementary works that are two overpasses that will cost $20 million more, therefore, the project will have an investment of $54.3 million. Of this amount, the government of El Salvador has provided 86% and international cooperation have provided 14%. The president explained that, despite the pandemic and the obstacles presented by the last Legislative Assembly, the project managed to materialize successfully.
With this new project, drivers will no longer have to pass through the municipality of Lourdes, Colón. It will also improve the transit of goods since cargo transport from industrial and logistics areas circulates on this highway. Therefore, with the peripheral, it is expected to reduce transportation costs.
The road includes the construction of two bridges: one over the Talnique river and the other over the Colón river. Both are 30 meters long. It also has a bike path the same length as the road.
President Bukele also announced that in addition to this peripheral, next year, the construction of the expansion of the Pan-American highway, known as Los Chorros, will begin. This road will be expanded to eight lanes and to include the construction of the Francisco Morazán viaduct; it will be the longest and most complex bridge ever built in the country.
President Bukele thanked the US Government for financing 22.3% of the work, however, he regretted that part of the financing was canceled by the US Congress:
“We thank the Government of the United States for financing 22.3% of this work — 14% if we take into account the complementary works. Initially, the United States would contribute $30 million to the project but this financing was canceled by their Congress. Thanks!”.