Closure of the pedestrian crossing over the Francisco de Paula Santander bridge will be extended for 20 days

Published at: 05/05/2026 09:00 PM

The closure of the pedestrian crossing over the Francisco de Paula Santander international bridge, due to structural faults, will last for 20 more days, said Civil Protection (PC) Táchira.

The preventive closure is maintained in the town of Ureña and Civil Protection officials are still deployed throughout the structure in the face of the undermining of the pilasters and the fracture of the asphalt folder.

According to Civil Protection officers, uniformed personnel protect the traffic of pedestrians from the traffic restriction that prevails on the site, since they seek to avoid static load on the bridge structure.

Until now, the authorities have estimated that this dynamic for risk reduction will continue for approximately more than 20 days.

PC Ureña officials are under permanent supervision of the Francisco de Paula Santander international bridge.

In this regard, the director of PC in the jurisdiction, Henry Zabala, reported that, for the time being, motorcycles and light cars are still passing through with the respective controls.

He explained that the affected side has yielded one more centimeter. Regarding whether there can be a total closure of the formal step, he stressed that these are instructions that must wait.

Both the officials of the PC and the Bolivarian National Guard (GNB) are still on the structure taking organized passage of vehicles.

For his part, the mayor of the José María Vargas municipality, Carlos Pérez, reported that, thanks to the rapid intervention and coordinated work of crews and security agencies, it was possible to clear the road that connects El Cobre with the city of La Grita, restoring traffic.

Pérez pointed out that the Aldea Los Duques sector remains incommunicado. Faced with this situation, the deployment of machinery and technical personnel has been arranged early in the morning to remedy the damage and enable traffic in the area as soon as possible.