Ruta 68 (Chile)

Autopista 68 in Chile
Basic data
Operator:	Sociedad Concesionaria Rutas del Pacífico SA Member of Grupo Abertis
Overall length:	141.36 km
Región (region):	Valparaíso Metropolitana
A toll booth on the Ruta 68.
Course of the road Metropolitan Region of Santiago (0)  Continuation of the Alameda Teniente Cruz Oceanía Serrano Américo Vespucio Petrobras Copec Costanera Norte G-11 G-13 Mapocho Bridge Lo Aguirre Shell Ciudad de Los Valles Cuesta Lo Prado (19)  Plaza de Peaje Lo Prado (21)  Lo Prado tunnel Cuesta Barriga María Pinto 76 G-730 (40)  Curacaví Puangue Bridge Curacaví Copec Cuesta Zapata F-910-G (54)  Zapata tunnel Región de Valparaíso (59)  Plaza de Peaje Zapata Algarrobo F-90 Casablanca Lo Vásquez Camino Orozco F-50 Placilla F-724 Placilla Variant of Agua Santa La Pólvora Autoruta Las Palmas Santos Ossa, Valparaíso

The Ruta 68 (short CH-68 , also known as Camino a Valparaíso ) is a national road in the regions of Valparaíso and Metropolitana de Santiago in central Chile . The Ruta was in 1971 inaugurated and begins in Santiago and ends at the port of Valparaiso and has an alternative of Agua Santa (10 km before its end) to Viña del Mar . It is under the administration of the Autopista del Pacífico .

It has had a huge impact on the way of life for many Chileans, as it connects two of the three most populous cities in the country. As short as possible and with a mountain range in the middle, the Ruta is the only easy way to travel between Valparaíso and Santiago. The long-distance passenger transport industry benefits from this situation and makes this route the busiest road in the country, with around 1.5 million users currently.

Especially in summer and around New Year's Day and long weekends, this route takes on an important role due to the tourist character of the Región de Valparaíso and the coast.

With a very high volume of traffic, which with up to 125,000 vehicles per day clearly exceeds the capacity limits of the Ruta, all lanes in the required direction may be released; so-called system 3 × 1 or 4 × 1.

At the height of Casablanca is the Santuario de la Virgen de Lo Vásquez , for whose celebrations for the Virgin Mary believers regularly make pilgrimages on foot on the Ruta. For this purpose, the road is closed to traffic, especially on the day of the Inmaculada Concepción .

There are two tunnels on this highway. The Lo Prado tunnel with a length of 2,886 m , built in 1970 and the Zapata tunnel .

Other attractions near the route include Lake Peñuelas , whose shores can be seen from the road, the Reserva nacional Lago Peñuelas nature reserve, and the Marga Marga Viaduct . The Ruta del Vino also runs along the Ruta 68, and so there are a number of wineries in the Valle de Casablanca .

history

It was the Spaniards who started building a number of connecting routes. One of them, the Camino de las Cuestas route , connected Santiago with Valparaíso and began on San Pablo Street . It led over the Lo Prado and Zapata passes with a usual rest in the Curacaví in between . In 1795, the expansion of this path for use with carts began. To finance this major structure, a toll booth was set up on the outskirts of Valparaiso, which was the first in Chile. The road, also known as Camino Real or Caracol , was inaugurated in 1802 under the government of Ambrosio O'Higgins . The architect was Joaquín Toesca .

This route has been an important natural route between Valparaíso and Santiago. At that time, the transport was generally cattle-driven and one trip took about two days.

In 1937, the Santiago - Valparaíso line began to operate for motor vehicles across the Barriga Pass, which replaced the steep Lo Prado Pass, and through the Zapata Tunnel, which lies below the Zapata Pass. In 1979 the Lo Prado tunnel was inaugurated. This shortened the route while omitting the Barriga Pass.

The private administration began on August 10, 1999 with a maximum term of 25 years. The Ruta was expanded into a motorway. Provisional operation began in November 2002, and the concession finally began on April 14, 2004.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c d} Ruta 68 on autopistacentral.cl ( Memento from May 28, 2013 in the Internet Archive )
2. ↑ ^{a b} Santiago - Zona Central on mop.cl ( Memento from April 20, 2011 in the Internet Archive )
3. ↑ Viaja por la Ruta 68 con tu TAG ( Memento of February 13, 2014 in the Internet Archive )
4. ↑ Regreso de capitalinos por Ruta 68 se realizó de forma expedita ( Memento from January 3, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) on Cooperativa (from January 1, 2012, accessed on January 15, 2012)
5. ↑ elmostrador.cl from December 31, 2013 ( Memento from January 1, 2014 in the Internet Archive )
6. ↑ revoluciontrespuntocero.cl from January 21, 2014 ( Memento from April 13, 2014 in the Internet Archive )
7. ↑ Ruta 68 sufrirá cortes de tránsito y desvíos por peregrinación a Lo Vásquez ( Memento of January 4, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) on Emol (December 7, 2011, accessed on January 15, 2012)
8. ↑ Cierre Ruta 68 on ouct.cl ( Memento from March 27, 2014 in the Internet Archive )
9. ↑ TUNELES MAS FAMOSOS DE CHILE by Mauricio Aguilera ( Memento from March 15, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) (2011, accessed January 3, 2014)
10. ↑ Soto, Pedro: CONSTRUCCIÓN DE TÚNELES ( Memento of January 26, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) (2004, PDF: 4.6 MB)
11. ↑ Mapas on laruta68.cl ( Memento from February 23, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) (accessed on January 15, 2012)
12. ↑ Ruta del Vino de Casablanca in the Chilean Heartland ( Memento from September 14, 2013 in the Internet Archive )
13. ↑ Along the Ruta 68 through the Chilean Casablanca Valley ( Memento from March 27, 2014 in the Internet Archive )
14. ↑ ^{a b} Comuna de Santiago una visipón histórica ( Memento of January 3, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) (accessed on January 3, 2014)
15. ↑ Placilla de Peñuelas ( Memento of January 3, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) (accessed January 3, 2014)
16. ↑ Medio Social Linea Base Construcción Zapata 2 (accessed on January 3, 2014)

Web links

• Rutas del Pacífico ( Memento from April 19, 2015 in the Internet Archive )
• Historia
• Batalla de Placilla