National Route 12 (Argentina)
The National Route 12 is a highway in the Argentine Republic, which connects the Mesopotamian region with the rest of the country. It unites the provinces of Misiones, Corrientes and Entre Ríos with that of Buenos Aires, with a route that largely follows the eastern bank of the entire Argentine stretch of the Paraná River. It has an extension of 1,560 kilometers, completely paved.
It is the main communication route between the cities of Corrientes and Paraná with Buenos Aires. It is also the most important route to reach the Iberá Wetlands and the Iguazú Falls, and to connect the towns located near the Paraná River in the provinces of Entre Ríos, Corrientes and Misiones. It is also the main integration route of the NEA region, linking the province of Misiones with the city of Corrientes and from there to the province of Chaco via the General Manuel Belgrano Bridge.
The route begins in the city of Zárate in the province of Buenos Aires and crosses the Paraná River thanks to the Zárate-Brazo Largo Railway Complex made up of two bridges: one over the Paraná de las Palmas River is named after General Bartolomé Mitre and another on the Paraná Guazú river called Justo José de Urquiza. It passes through the cities of Paraná, Corrientes and Posadas, which are the capitals of the three Mesopotamian provinces, and culminates at the Tancredo Neves International Bridge, in the city of Puerto Iguazú. This bridge crosses the Iguazú River, the natural border with Brazil, where the road continues with the name BR-469.
In the Zárate section -in Buenos Aires- and Ceibas -in Entre Ríos- the road has a divided carriageway (highway) of 79 km. In the section of the province of Corrientes there are no express roads at the entrances to the Greater Corrientes, generating delays in its surroundings, which is why an urban highway is planned.
In the province of Misiones, the route almost entirely has sectors of one or two extra lanes alternately, while what will be the highway in the section of this province is being built. From Posadas to San Ignacio (except for a sector around Santa Ana) the route has 4 completed lanes. Then to Puerto Iguazú there are sections with 2, 3 (one outbound and two return or vice versa) or 4 lanes while the widening, filling, dynamiting, compaction and asphalting tasks continue. The works pass through the towns. of Gobernador Roca, Jardín América or Garuhapé will constitute a challenge due to urbanization very close to the national route, projecting a ring road.
The national law 25,680 published in the Official Gazette on January 3, 2003 designated the section from Brazo Largo (on the banks of the Paraná Guazú River) to Ceibas as David Della Chiesa.
In the province of Entre Ríos, National Route 12 crosses or connects with the following provincial routes: 45 (in Brazo Largo), access to Puerto Ibicuy, 46 (access to Villa Paranacito), 16 (in Enrique Carbó), 11 (in Gualeguay), 9 (access to General Galarza), 19 (access to General Mansilla), 39, 6 (both in the Tala department), access to Maciá, 19 (access to Lucas González), 43, 13, 26, 34 (the 4 near Nogoyá), 32 (in Crespo), 10 (in La Picada), A09 (access to Villa Urquiza), access to Pueblo Brugo, 32 (access to Hasenkamp), A03 (access to Hernandarias), A02 (access to Santa Elena), 6 (beginning in the department of La Paz), A01 (access to La Paz), 1 (in La Paz). The bridge over the Guayquiraró River that connects the provinces of Entre Ríos and Corrientes is called Paso Telégrafo.
History
On September 3, 1935, the National Highway Directorate published its first national route numbering scheme. National Route 12 had a different route than the current one in the provinces of Buenos Aires, Entre Ríos and Corrientes.
The original route of this route began in the City of Buenos Aires, continuing through General Pacheco, Campana and Zárate. As at that time the bridge over the Reconquista River had not been built, vehicles had to use National Route 195 from Buenos Aires to San Fernando and from there National Route 202 to the junction with Route 12.
The section between the port of Zárate and Puerto Constanza, in the Province of Entre Ríos, was done by raft, a three-hour journey.
After Ceibas it continued along the current National Route 14, passing near Gualeguaychú, and then along the current Provincial Route 20, passing through Urdinarrain, Basavilbaso, Villaguay, Federal and San José de Feliciano.
In the province of Corrientes the route continued along the current Provincial Route 23 passing through Sauce and Perugorría, continuing along the current Provincial Route 24 until the junction with the current National Route 12.
On February 12, 1938, the Iguazú road was opened to vehicular traffic.
When the route of National Route 9 changed in 1943, the section between General Paz Avenue and the city of Campana moved to this route, so from that moment on Route 12 began in said city.
On October 16, 1969, national and provincial authorities and the United States ambassador John Davis Lodge, [citation needed] inaugurated the so-called John Highway Fitzgerald Kennedybetween Itatí, in Corrientes, and the border with the province of Misiones, which allowed the union of the provincial capitals Corrientes and Posadas by a permanent transit road. The United States Agency for International Development financed half of the work, which cost 12,000,000,000 pesos in national currency.
The Zárate-Brazo Largo railway complex was opened for traffic on December 14, 1977. Before the construction of this railway complex, users of the route had to cross the Paraná de las Palmas and Paraná Guazú rivers by raft. The section between both rivers, on Talavera Island, was gravel.
The old route of 580 km within the provinces of Entre Ríos and Corrientes mentioned above passed to provincial jurisdiction through national decree 1595 of 1979 except for the section of National Route 14 between Ceibas and the junction with Provincial Route 20.
The construction of the second carriageway in the 45 km stretch between Brazo Largo and Ceibas (km 115 to 160) began in May 1997, with the highway inaugurated on October 12, 1999.
In the new layout of the route, the section between General Galarza and Nogoyá, in the south of the Province of Entre Ríos, remained unopened. In 2005, the National Highway Directorate signed an agreement with its provincial counterpart so that it would transfer the sections of provincial routes 6 and 39 to complete the missing section of route 12. (it is still a project without execution)
In 2005, the 8 km section between National Route 9 in Campana and the access to the Bartolomé Miter Bridge over the Paraná de las Palmas River passed to the province of Buenos Aires as a new section of Provincial Route 6. The route 12 extends over the old route of National Route 193 to the bridge over National Route 9 in Zárate.
Cities
The cities with more than 5,000 inhabitants that this route passes through from south to north are:
Province of Buenos Aires
Distance: 30 km (km 82 to 112).
- Zárate Party (82-88): Zárate (km 84).
- Campana Party (88-103): there are no localities.
- Zárate Sector Islands Party (103-112): there are no localities.
Province of Entre Ríos
Distance: 535 km (km 112 to 647). National Route 12 is called David Della Chiesa between the Paraná Guazú River and Ceibas.
- Ibicuy Islands Department (112-229): there are no localities of more than 5000 inhabitants.
- Department Gualeguay (229-288): Gualeguay (km 231): General Galarza (km 281)
- Department Tala (288-338): there are no localities of more than 5000
- Department Nogoyá (338-432): Nogoyá (km 337).
- Department Diamond (432-432): General Ramírez (km 376)
- Department Paraná (432-521): Crespo (km 401), San Benito and Paraná (km 445).
- Department La Paz (521-647): La Paz (km 601).
Province of Corrientes
Distance: 678 km (km 647 to 1325). National Route 12 is called April 2, 1982, between the capital cities of Corrientes and Misiones, popular decree of the people of the country, and National Sovereignty in the Saladas section -Goya, decree No. 427 of March 10, 1981.[citation required] Later, in 2015 the name Jesuit Missions Route< was designated. /b> to the section between the cities of Corrientes and Puerto Iguazú.
- Esquina Department (647-714): Esquina (km 684)
- Department Goya (714-841): Goya (km 795)
- Department Lavalle (841-865): there are no localities of more than 5000 hectares.
- Department San Roque (865-904): there are no localities of more than 5000 hectares, but the route passes through the header, San Roque (km 902)
- Department Bella Vista (904-918): there are no localities of more than 5000 hectares.
- Department Saladas (918-957): there are no localities of more than 5000 people.
- Emped Department (957-1011): Emped (km 977)
- Department Capital (1012-1041): Currents (km 1030)
- Department San Cosme (1041-1079): there are no localities of more than 5000 hectares, but the route passes through the header, San Cosme (km 1061)
- Department Itatí (1079-1129): Itatí (km 1089)
- Department Berón de Astrada (1129-1174): there are no localities of more than 5000 hectares.
- Department General Paz (1174-1193): there are no localities of more than 5000 hectares.
- Department San Miguel (1193-1216): There are no localities of more than 5000 hectares.
- Department Ituzaingó (1216-1325): Ituzaingó (km 1256)
Province of Misiones
Distance: 317 km (km 1325 to 1642). At the entrance to Misiones there is a well-known arch that marks the entrance to the province. As it passes through Posadas (where it is called Luis Quaranta Avenue and then Tulo Llamosas) it is a multi-track highway with 2 lanes in each direction without central separation, except for some sections with divided carriageway such as the bridge over the Zaimán stream and the access to Posadas Airport. Since the end of 2012, an 18-kilometer-long detour called By pass Arco-Garita has been enabled, so that the route moves away from the city, since over the years it has been in the middle of the urbanization. Both the detour and the new layout of the route over the Yabebirí stream were carried out by the Yaciretá Binational Entity. At the intersection with Provincial Route 17 in the city of Eldorado there is a viaduct so that the traffic of both routes does not mix.
- Department Capital (1325-1354): Posadas (km 1339-1349), Miguel Lanús (km 1347) and Garupá (km 1354).
- Candelaria Department (1354-1394): Candelaria (km 1361). The route also passes through the Santa Ana (km 1383).
- Department San Ignacio (1394-1443): San Ignacio (km 1398) and Jardin América (km 1437).
- Department Libertador General San Martín (1443-1505): Puerto Rico (km 1473).
- Department Montecarlo (1505-1532): Montecarlo (km 1521) and Puerto Piray (km 1531).
- Eldorado Department (1532-1572): Eldorado (km 1543).
- Department Iguazú (1572-1642): Puerto Esperanza (km 1591), Colonia Wanda (km 1601), Puerto Libertad (km 1608) and Puerto Iguazú (km 1640).
Tour
Below is a schematic map of the main intersections and bridges on this route:
Claims
On September 7, 1996, at kilometer 129, the singer Gilda died when a truck hit the bus where she was traveling, dying along with her mother, her eldest daughter, three of her musicians and the bus driver. On July 12, 2017, a bridge belonging to the Santa Rosa Pass broke (section composed of three bridges along 162 m.), located at km 714 that connects the cities of Goya and Esquina. Two days after this event, a traveler aboard a truck, who was crossing the place, ignoring the damaged bridge, fell into the river, causing his immediate death. The subject was unaware that the bridge was disabled and, due to police negligence, it was unmarked.
Management
In 1990, the busiest routes in the country were concessioned with toll collection, dividing these into Road Corridors.
In this way, the section between the link with National Route 9 in Zárate and the link with National Route 14 in Ceibas is part of Road Corridor 18, with the company winning the tender Caminos del Río Uruguay (Crusa) installing the Zárate toll station (km 85).
In 1996 the concession was extended to 28 years with the condition that the concessionaire company build a highway between the National Union Complex and Gualeguaychú. The section between the General Justo José de Urquiza Bridge and Ceibas was completed on October 12, 1999. Due to the devaluation of the Argentine peso in 2002, work on the Ceibas-Gualeguaychú section, on National Route 14, was paralyzed.
The company Virgen de Itatí Concesionaria de Obras Viales (VICOV) took charge of Road Corridor number 13, which included (among others) Route 12 between km 871 and 1641, in the provinces of Corrientes and Misiones, from junction with National Route 123 until the access to the Tancredo Neves International Bridge, excluding the section in the vicinity of Posadas (km 1336-1349) installing toll booths in Riachuelo (km 1014), Ituzaingó (km 1262), Santa Ana (km 1374) and Colonia Victoria (km 1551).
In 2003 the concession contracts for the Road Corridors expired, so the numbering of the road corridors was modified and a new tender was called. The winner of Road Corridor number 6 was the Road Concessionaire Company (Emcovial). Said corridor includes Route 12 in the same section as in the previous concession.
In 2010, a new tender was called. The winning company, Caminos del Paraná, took over the road area on April 22 of that year.