Autopista Central to begin operating stretches Sep.

Concessionaire Autopista Central, which is building one of four free-flow expressways in Chile's capital Santiago, will begin operating four stretches and start charging motorists September 1, the concessionaire and the public works ministry's concessions department announced. Autopista won a 30-year concession in 2000 to operate 61km of Metropolitan Region roadways: the 40km Norte-Sur and 21km General Velásquez expressways. The roadways will be the first of the four free-flow projects to go into operation, and is expected to be fully operational next year. The four stretches total 35km, 21km of which correspond to the Norte-Sur roadway and 14km to the General Velasquez roadway. Motorists will be charged 26 pesos/km (US$0.04) through year-end, which corresponds to the non-peak rate. Earlier this year, the concessionaire began issuing free-flow tags; those that do not have the tag will have to purchase a daily pass for 2,100 pesos. Dragados (48%), Skanska (48%), Belfi (2%) and Brotec (2%) make up Autopista Central.