Landslides force the closure of the Molleturo-El Empalme route, at km 71

Basin

For travelers and tourists who wish to go or come from Cuenca to Guayaquil, and vice versa, there were problems on the most used highway since the morning of this Sunday, February 27.

The Molleturo-El Empalme route was closed at kilometer 71, according to information from the Ministry of Transport and Public Works (MTOP), due to landslides at kilometer 71.

This coincides with the 40-day closure announced for this route by the MTOP so that they can “remove rocky material in the upper part of the slope (kilometer 49)”, considered another critical point in this sector.

Inhabitants oppose the closure of a section of the Cuenca-Molleturo road after carnival

The inhabitants of the Molleturo parish have as an option to move a road through Migüir, 33 kilometers; while for interprovincial transport, the Cuenca-Zhud-Cochancay-El Triunfo will be available, which represents an additional distance of 50 kilometers in relation to Molleturo-El Empalme, which in time represents about an additional hour of travel.

Patricio Picón, president of the Interprovincial Transport Union of Azuay (Utipa), asked the authorities to guarantee the safety of those who will use this route, “better horizontal and vertical signage be made from Azogues to Cochancay because it is terrible for all types vehicular”.

Although they will abide by the provisions of the Ministry, they also asked the authorities of the National Transit Agency (ANT) to carry out operations against informal transport and that the promise of 40 days be fulfilled.

Those who totally oppose the closure are those who live off the visitors.

The Cuenca-Molleturo road is closed indefinitely after another mishap at Km 49

On behalf of the Provincial Chamber of Tourism, Juan Pablo Vanegas said that the intervention is necessary, but they “reject” the total closure because the MTOP authorities did not think about this sector because when the Costa region is about to go on vacation it is for them a “high season”.

The rejection, said the leader, is because two months ago the MTOP authorities offered to make a variant in the Cuenca-Molleturo to allow traffic while the works are being carried out, but they never complied, “it does not exist.”

When they travel through the Cuenca-Molleturo they have the option of making stops and doing tourism, but in the Zhud-Cochancay it is not like that, because of the traffic. (I)