We experienced the long-awaited “Super Tuesday” of this 2024 this Tuesday, March 5, with the official return to classes of all educational establishments, especially in Rancagua and Machalí, as well as on all roads that involve their conurbation. Let us remember that we were expectant about the increase in traffic and mobility, thinking, for example, about the expansion works that remain active on Carretera El Cobre.
That is why the March plan moved to the field and mobilized the entities involved from the first hours to speed up mobility within the city, either with supervision by the Ministry of Transportation and Carabineros personnel. It should be noted that in the case of the intersection of Firefighter Villalobos with Carretera El Cobre, municipal personnel installed signage to indicate the availability of open roads that have already been available for a few days.
Very early on, the Seremi of Transportation and Telecommunications, Flavia González and other authorities met this Tuesday at the Traffic Control Operational Unit (UOCT) to monitor this official start of classes in the region and mainly in the Rancagua area and the conurbation with Machalí. “Today (Tuesday) we have detected 10% more delays in travel compared to the same day last year,” she said. This must be understood with a series of accompanying factors, according to the authority, “such as the increase in real estate projects, road work, for example, on the El Cobre highway, or the accommodation of families during the first days of this return.” .
Through collaborative work between various public and private actors, reflected a couple of years ago in what is the Rancagua-Machalí Mobility Table, we already have new changes. “As a result of this is, for example, the delayed entry of students from the Nahuelcura School, which helps a lot to displace congestion, or the work on Avenida San Juan to add a third lane in that school sector.”
And with regard to the urban center of Rancagua, González recalled that a mobility plan is also implemented together with Carabineros and inspection work by the Ministry and municipal inspectors, “which helps ensure that in the most conflictive points there can be greater fluidity and order traffic.”
Finally, the seremi of the branch called on parents and guardians not to stop outside the schools because it generates greater congestion, or to simply get out of the car, share it, use bicycles or prefer public transportation. “Here, major public transportation maintains the same figure as last year, without an increase, and even so it is important to remember that since last year there have been injections from the Machalí Transport Union Association from Santa Teresa and another from El Polo. Plus another one inside Machalí in the center only for students.”
OCT
The UOCT is responsible for optimizing the existing road resource according to the existing infrastructure through the management they do with traffic lights, with teams on the ground and with police officers on the ground, mainly. “All necessary actions are taken on the ground to expedite, always within what the roads allow us,” added Oscar Cavieres, in charge of this unit in the O’Higgins Region and whose facilities operate from the center of Rancagua and for the entire the region. Their role is a collaborative work, assures the person in charge, together with the municipalities, Carabineros, field inspectors of the Ministry of Transport and Telecommunications, in order to install them in the most critical points and “thus be able to speed up and improve mobility conditions.” .
According to what was seen and experienced by this representative, these first two days of return to school, in the city and conurbation “a very marked difference was noticed between both days, especially between 07:45 and 08:15 hours, being The Machalí area is the most congested. Compared to last year there was an increase in the flow of circulating vehicles,” Cavieres added. Especially in the western sector of the regional capital: Baquedano, Alameda, Salvador Allende, the head of the unit explained that this Monday there was no major congestion, “which did appear this Tuesday and in a very marked way.”
For his part, Carabineros lieutenant colonel Luis Rebolledo, from the Cachapoal Prefecture, pointed out that, in accordance with the planning of the prefecture with its units, “Carabineros travel to schools to provide security to minors and their families. This is coordinated with the UOCT, which through the cameras also coordinates this streamlining of traffic on the roads. We have personnel in Machalí and Rancagua who are stationed at the most complicated intersections so it is about speeding up traffic within the existing possibilities,” he added.
According to the official’s opinion. “There are always bad customs and people expect to arrive in front of the place and stay close. It is advisable to park in the surrounding area, arrive with more time and plan well the trip to educational establishments.” They would like to be everywhere, he adds, “but since it is not possible, they call on the population and not just the drivers, to respect and pay attention to the signs.”
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