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The La Limona bridge, located on the old road that connects Medellín with the town of San Antonio de Prado, was closed completely and temporarily after a partial undermining was detected in its structure, which forced the authorities to take immediate measures to prevent accidents.

The Medellín Mobility Secretariat confirmed that the closure was adopted as a preventive action, after deterioration was evident in the foundations of the bridge, specifically on the side of the municipality of Itagüí, a situation that represents a high risk for drivers, pedestrians and motorcyclists who travel through this road corridor.

The mayor of Medellín, Federico Gutiérrez, explained that the emergency occurred at the end of the afternoon of the previous day and directly affects the communities of San Antonio de Prado and Itagüí, as it is one of the two road accesses that the district has. According to him, the partial loss of the road forced the total closure of the bridge to protect the safety of people.

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The president clarified that this contingency is independent of the road work announced months ago for a value close to $48,000 million, which seeks to expand vehicle capacity through the construction of a viaduct over the La Limona ravine and the expansion of the road. This project, financed by Medellín, Itagüí and the Metropolitan Area, has already been awarded, has a start date from December 30, 2025 and will have an execution period of 20 months.

Gutiérrez pointed out that the complexity of the situation is that the structural failure of the bridge occurred simultaneously with the start of the project, which was planned to be executed without the need for a total closure. However, he assured that they are already working on an alternative that allows a provisional step to be enabled.

Given the impact on mobility, especially for those who travel between San Antonio de Prado, Itagüí and surrounding sectors, the Mobility Secretariats of Medellín, Itagüí and La Estrella activated an inter-institutional care plan.

As part of the contingency, 22 traffic agents were deployed at strategic points to regulate vehicle flow and guide drivers.

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Currently, the only road enabled to enter and exit San Antonio de Prado is the new road through Ditaires. The authorities are waiting for a specialized technical assessment of the bridge by the municipality of Itagüí, which will make it possible to define whether repair works, reinforcement or a major structural intervention are required.

The mayor assured that the Medellín Mayor’s Office maintains a Unified Command Post (PMU) with technical and mobility teams, and reiterated that he will inform the decisions that are adopted during the day, while the actions to mitigate the situation progress.

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