After a listening exercise with the inhabitants of Commune 7, the Infrastructure Secretariat began the dismantling of the bridge on Carrera 8 with Calle 78 that connects the Alfonso López 3 neighborhoods with Puerto Mallarino.

It is a structure that, according to technical studies, presents various damages that represent a serious risk for the thousands of pedestrians who circulate through the sector.

According to Julio Humberto Molineros Cortés, supervisor of the Community Action Board of the Puerto Mallarino neighborhood, for several years the bridge had not been used by the residents of the sector due to the fear it represented.

“We call this bridge ‘the bridge of death’ and for us it has been a struggle, we do not use it, because it became a house of bad things. We have been asking for a long time for that bridge to be removed from there and thanks to this administration today it is a reality,” said Molineros Cortés.

Thanks to different work groups with citizens, the work to dismantle the bridge began on October 22 and will continue until Sunday, October 26.

“In evaluations carried out on this structure, we found that the bridge presented serious structural and safety deterioration, posing risks to pedestrians due to corrosion, cracks and detachments,” said Andrés Felipe Pereira, undersecretary of Technical Support of the Infrastructure Secretariat.

Furthermore, it is important to state that the bridge did not meet the accessibility criteria required according to national regulations, since it was made up of only steps and did not have ramps so that it could be used by people with reduced mobility or the elderly.

“Once the bridge has been dismantled, we will begin an action plan with other agencies, such as Mobility, to guarantee pedestrian flow at the level, in accordance with the Comprehensive Urban Mobility Plan of the Santiago de Cali district,” added Pereira.

Schedule and detours

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For this work, the contractor advanced various Traffic Management Plans, PMT, approved by the Ministry of Mobility in order to make some detours that allow the work to be carried out successfully.

Currently, construction regulators and traffic agents are present in the sector seeking the least impact on vehicular traffic moving to and from the municipality of Candelaria.

However, it is important to indicate that among the permits granted is the closure of the sector from next Saturday, October 25, starting at 9:00 at night, until 2:00 in the afternoon on Sunday, October 26, days in which the pedestrian bridge will be demolished.

For people entering from Candelaria, they must make a detour when entering Cali through the Juanchito bridge to pass behind the Alfonso López Gallery on Carrera 8a with Calle 81, then take Carrera 7TBis and continue until Calle 76 to join Calle 73 (Avenida Ciudad de Cali) where you can look for the return that will take you back to Carrera 8a.

In the Cali-Candelaria direction, vehicles will detour along Calle 73 (Ciudad de Cali Avenue) to return to Carrera 14 and reach Carrera 8A to continue to Calle 81 through the interior of the Puerto Mallarino neighborhood and look for Carrera 8A again until exiting at Puente de Juanchito.

It is important to mention that the work flow will be intense at night and early morning to quickly expedite the dismantling of the structure and thus enable the road.

Once the bridge is completely dismantled, the flow of mobility in the area will be guaranteed with traffic agents and regulators until all road recovery in the sector is carried out.