During the ceremony, the President highlighted the importance of this infrastructure in improving the quality of life of millions of people who commute daily across the capital. The connection between AVO I and AVO II will make it possible to close the Américo Vespucio ring road to motorway standards, integrating the city’s northern and southern sectors through a more efficient, safer, and more modern transport network.
This Wednesday, 2026-06-03, the President of the Republic, José Antonio Kast, together with the dual minister of Public Works, Transport and Telecommunications, Louis de Grange, led the construction milestone of joining the tunnels of the underground motorways AVO I (Eleática-Sacyr Concessionaire) and AVO II (Grupo Costanera Concessionaire). This advances the works that will make it possible to close the Américo Vespucio ring road to motorway standards, connecting in the south with the Vespucio Sur Motorway (AVS), improving connectivity and the urban transport system in Greater Santiago.
This milestone marks significant progress in the construction of the underground AVO II project, which involves an investment of close to US$815 million and will directly benefit more than 660,000 people. The AVO II project is located mostly within the Américo Vespucio and Avenida Ossa corridor and is approximately 5.2 kilometres long, crossing the four municipalities of La Reina, Ñuñoa, Macul and Peñalolén.
The dual minister of Public Works, Transport and Telecommunications, Louis de Grange, stated: “This is world-class engineering—engineering from Chile to the world (…) All the sophistication and technological innovations, I believe, speak very highly of Chilean professionals and of the capacity to implement new technologies in pursuit of a common goal, which is the wellbeing of citizens and the wellbeing of the population.”
“The owner of these motorways, of these roads, is the State of Chile—that is, all Chileans—and it has an impact not only on growth, on the country’s development and on employment, but also on saving time. This project makes it possible to go from 35 or 30 minutes to 5 minutes on the surface. Multiply that if it is done every day, twice a day. That impact on a family’s quality of life is extraordinary. I believe it is especially valuable,” the dual minister De Grange highlighted.
For his part, President Kast noted: “Here we have the private sector and the public sector working together on something that is a State policy. It is not the policy of a government. And I have emphasised that on all the recent occasions when I have been able to be involved in Metro matters and in major infrastructure matters. It is the joint work of many governments.”
“Right here we can see how the union between the strength and rules the State must have and the power the private sector provides achieves this. Jobs increase; time is saved. The State does not have all the resources and, since it does not have all the resources, it has to seek collaboration. And that is the investment. And that is what we are concerned with today,” he said.
As detailed, the works include two independent mined tunnels with three lanes in each direction, located between 23 and 54 metres deep. Their alignment runs mainly parallel to and beneath Metro Line 4. On this road, vehicles will be able to travel at 100 kilometres per hour and, in the entry and exit sections to the surface, four-lane caverns will be provided to form the acceleration or deceleration lanes.
As of April 2026, the project is about 35% complete, with a team of 1,460 workers, 110 of whom are women. The Ministry of Public Works (MOP) notes that the AVO II project also includes surface-level improvements such as parks, landscaping, cycle lanes, geometric improvements to vehicle roads and community facilities, thereby providing significant urban value for Santiago’s eastern sector.
In environmental and heritage matters, the project continues to implement mitigation and management measures in accordance with current regulations, including the recovery and analysis of archaeological finds identified during the execution of the works.
Measures to protect AVO II from water leaks following the experience in AVO I
When asked about the water leaks that affected AVO I users in 2023, dual minister De Grange explained that synthetic material covers were installed “to prevent water leaks from reaching the motorway.”
On this point, Grupo Costanera’s general manager, Diego Savino, added: “Work is being carried out with a waterproofing membrane that will cover it along its entire length, so there should be no problems with water leaks or, if any occur, they should be absolutely minimal,” he stated.
Sources:
Presidential Press Office
https://prensa.presidencia.cl/comunicado.aspx?id=330440
Emol
https://www.emol.com/noticias/Nacional/2026/06/03/1201787/conexion-tuneles-avo-americo-vespucio.html
