The state of the routes revives an old front between the governors and the Nation

Abandonment, lack of maintenance and apathy on the part of the State These are some of the terms that the districts use to describe a situation that, as they define, exhibits the worst part of the chainsaw plan. Such is the complexity that there are provincial chiefs who, even with tight accounts, They ask that the Government hand over the administration of national arteries to them.

Provinces raise their voices about the state of the routes

In the last few days, Santa Fe It was one of the provinces that raised its voice complaining about it. Specifically, the administration of Maximiliano Pullaro He requested that the Casa Rosada grant them the management of national routes 11 and 34, both essential for transferring agro-industrial production to the ports of the Paraná River. The local Minister of Public Works, Lisandro Enricoreported that in 2024 there were 60 deaths due to road accidents between both routes.

“For the Milei Government, national routes do not exist, they do not care, they are not interested. The situation is unsustainable,” denounced the Santa Fe official, while ensuring that ““No one talks about national routes because it is an issue that is internal and this is a government that has a very Buenos Aires perspective, it is a Buenos Aires democracy, and the truth is that they don’t care.”

At the same time, the minister stated that “there are deaths on the roads and unfortunately there will continue to be, but the Nation does not care.”I send messages to the Highway Department, I tell them that there was another death. I think that if that death were in the Federal Capital, the Obelisk or in General Paz, they would invest there to avoid it, because there are resources for Buenos Aires but not for the interior.”he concluded.

The complaints reached the ears of the presidential spokesperson, Manuel Adorniwho separated the Nation from the problem. “We do not have that priority,” the spokesperson responded laconically in one of his usual press conferences and clarified that it does not generate “any type of concern or anything that we have to do with.”

Similar luck awaits Between Rivers. Last week, the provincial Minister of Planning, Infrastructure and Services, Dario Schneidertook the claims to National Highways. Although the meeting was cordial, the official left a list of pending requests: National Route (RN) 18, San Salvador section, the culmination of the National Route 127 roundabout and Provincial Route (RP) 6; the Southern Access to Paraná through National Route 12; and the Crespo – Racedo route.

As a counterpart, Nación committed to carrying out a patch in the Route 18but claimed to be unaware of the projects at the aforementioned roundabout. The rest of the topics were left open to be discussed at an upcoming meeting, which will be next week. On the contrary, in the province the good progress of the works in the RN 12, while they expressed “concern” about the brake on RN 18 and RP 32 due to lack of payment to the executing company.

Another jurisdiction that expressed its discomfort in this regard is Black River. Since the beginning of the year, the governor Alberto Weretilneck He demands that the Casa Rosada give up the administration of national routes 22 and 151, two fundamental arteries for Vaca Muerta, a request shared with his Neuquén counterpart, Rolando Figueroa. In the province they also denounce the postponement of works on RN 23, an artery that connects the Argentine Sea with the Andes mountain range.

Last week, Weretilneck protested on its social networks denouncing “national abandonment” by Roads. Specifically, he referred to the Nahuel Niyeu bridge, destroyed by a flood in 2014 and never rebuilt. “Ten years of unfulfilled promises and forgetfulness of National Highways. The Nahuel Niyeu bridge, fundamental for the connection on Route 23, continues to be a debt of the national governments with Río Negro,” complained the Patagonian.

He clarified, at the same time, that “Today the route is closed, and we are the people of Rio Negro who pay the consequences of this constant apathy. Enough of the excuses, our province cannot continue to tolerate abandonment.” In the province they argued that they are willing to absorb the works in case the Government transfers them to them, but they warned that they should obtain international financing.

Emergency declaration

From the legislative field, the Mendoza deputy Julio Cobos joined the chorus and asked the national government to declare the emergency of the road infrastructure of Route 7 in the Alta Montaña section, “to immediately address the serious problems caused by the lack of maintenance and the large amount of traffic.”

Cobos denounced that the national government’s decision not to carry out public works “has negatively impacted national routes throughout Argentina and especially mountain routes, which require almost permanent maintenance and intervention.”

“In addition to affecting road safety, the disinvestment in road maintenance directly impacts the increase in the logistics costs of goods: increase in insurance premiums, delays for different reasons, vehicle breakdowns, among others”broad.

This week, the governor of Chaco, Leandro Zderoannounced that, after carrying out negotiations in the City, it obtained financing for US$33 million from the Financial Fund for the Development of the La Plata Basin (FONDEF) with the objective of paving Provincial Route 13.