Machu Picchu is the most popular tourist destination in South America, receiving 955. 741 million in 2023, according to Peru’s Ministry of Foreign Trade and Tourism. Photo via C. J. Schexnayder/ENR
Getting to the Inca citadel of Machu Picchu is traditionally characterized by its difficulty. The remoteness of the site was something that led the Spanish conquistadors to get there as they swept through Peru in search of its riches. Archaeologist and politician Hiram Bingham was looking for some other “lost” one. “Inca people when they discovered it in 1911.
Today, Machu Picchu is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the biggest tourist attractions on the South American continent. According to Peru’s Ministry of Foreign Trade and Tourism, 955,741 visitors flocked to the historic site last year, of which about 70% came from outside the country. The vast majority of visitors come through exercise due to the lack of an asphalt road in the immediate vicinity.
But soon this challenge will be resolved; Lately a paved road leading to the threshold of the historical ruins is being built.
The project – the Santa María-Santa Teresa-Machu Picchu Hydroelectric Bridge Highway – consists of paving 35 kilometers of road along the Urubamba River. The course begins in the city of Santa Maria, along a national highway, then passes through the city of Santa Teresa before ending at a hydroelectric power plant near Machu Picchu.
“This work is very vital for Cusco’s integration and economic progress,” Peruvian Transport Minister Raul Perez Reyes Espejo said during a stopover at the site in January. “This is part of a joint effort across the executive branch, through the [Ministry of Transport and Communications (MTC)], the regional government and local governments to build infrastructure in this vital region of Peru. “
The hydroelectric plant on the Urubamba River, southwest of Machu Picchu, will be the terminus of the asphalt road. This is also where the railway line ends in the opposite direction. Photo via CJSchexnayder/ENR
Scott Hilling/ENR Map*Click on map for more details
The project, one of the largest ever undertaken in the Cusco decay, is controlled through Provías Nacional, a dependency of Peru’s Ministry of Transport. It is part of a broader initiative for infrastructure transport in rural areas of Peru’s highlands.
The highway will feature two 11-foot-wide paved lanes with shoulders and drainage. Six major bridges are being built at key junctions where decades-old prefabricated Bailey-style truss bridges will be upgraded. The rugged terrain of the mountains demands extensive retaining walls and gabions.
The steering will eliminate the number of curves and detours that are followed by the unpaved direction. Another commission is the construction of a one-kilometre-long tunnel for the road by drilling and blasting. The tunnel will have two lanes and a center for its operation.
Officials say the road will open in 2025. Once finished, a torturous four- to five-hour adventure will be whittled down to just two.
The paving part of the commission has been awarded to China Civil Engineering Construction Corp. Sucursal del Perú (CCECC) for $90 million in 2021. The part of the tunnels and related works has been awarded to the Cusco Highway consortium, formed by the China Railway Tunnel. . Co. Ltda. Grupo Sucursal del Perú and Grupo Constructor
The road was originally scheduled to be completed by the end of 2023, but was delayed in 2022 when an audit found that contractors had submitted certification documents after the deadline. The MTC suspended the contract, but the delayed contractor filed an appeal to save it. The two sides then agreed on the factor through arbitration, and work resumed.
Other delays also affected the project. Heavy rains in January 2022 caused severe flooding that forced the evacuation of many tourists. Unusually dry situations in April led to work delays due to dense airborne dust.
Machu Picchu is the mainstay of Peru’s tourism sector, which is still recovering from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Since January 1, the maximum number of tourists allowed to enter the day of the sanctuary has been more than 4,500, with up to 5,600 on express dates such as holidays. Before the pandemic, a maximum of 5,800 scale agents were allowed to stop on site day, more than double the number allowed a decade earlier.
There is an exercise service between Cusco and the town of Aguas Calientes, located on the Urubamba River, about 8 km northeast of Machu Picchu. Buses take tourists from the village to the shrine.
The citadel is also available for walking routes, such as the popular multi-day “Inca Trail” treks. With only 500 more people allowed to hike the trail daily, plus guides and porters, only a few hundred hikers enter Machu Picchu. those visitors then stay in Aguas Calientes.
For years, intrepid and budget-conscious visitors have taken the chosen direction through the hydroelectric dam southwest of the citadel and about six miles beyond Aguas Calientes by railroad tracks. These visitors can simply use road transportation to get to the plant and then through exercise. or walk to Aguas Calientes.
When the highway is completed next year, it will simplify access to Machu Picchu and transportation for citizens in the area. Photo courtesy of MTC
A highway from Aguas Calientes to Santa Teresa was proposed in 2010 after a flash flood on the Urubamba River destroyed parts of the railroad. Thousands of tourists had to be evacuated by helicopter after the event. At the time, there was a great fear that Machu Picchu would be flooded with tourists thanks to the improved access.
The improved road will create this direct connection, as there is only one rail bridge crossing the river at the hydroelectric plant, restricting vehicle access. The modernized directorate aims to “improve the flow” of tourists to the tourist destination, officials said.
The road’s drawbacks meant that only a handful of tourists would take it each day, restricting the ability of communities along the direction to take advantage of Machu Picchu’s foreign popularity.
Boosting tourism is just one of the project’s goals, officials say. An additional 19,000 people are estimated to live in cities and districts adjacent to the road. The innovations will give local communities more direct access to markets, as well as increased transportation between communities.
Since work resumed last summer, several government officials have recorded videos to underscore their commitment to completing it.
“Without a doubt, these paintings will absolutely replace the way the surrounding population moves and their quality of life,” Peru’s comptroller general, Nelson Shack, said in 2022 as the government sought to return to paintings.
C. J. Schexnayder is the editor-in-chief of ENR California and ENR Northwest. He has contributed to ENR’s media policy in the structural sector for more than a decade. His paintings have focused on primary projects, industry trends, and emerging technologies. He was in the past South American correspondent for the magazine founded in Lima, Peru. During this time, he covered many large-scale infrastructure projects in the region, adding the expansion of the third lane of the Panama Canal. In addition, CJ has been an award-winning journalist in Southern California, Texas, and Louisiana.
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