Indra has been appointed to develop and implement the traffic management system for the Lo Ruiz Tunnel, a major new road connection under construction in northern Santiago, Chile.

Sociedad Concesionaria Autopista Central, part of Abertis-owned toll-road operator VíasChile, awarded the contract to support the tunnel’s future operation. The value of Indra’s contract was not disclosed. The project covers the engineering and software development, installation, integration, testing and commissioning of the new system. Indra will also provide the communications network, traffic operations centre, data-processing centre and associated intelligent transportation systems.

These systems will include surveillance cameras, variable-message signs, emergency telephones, public-address equipment, continuous traffic-flow monitoring, vehicle-clearance and barrier controls, radio communications and information services for road users. The equipment will be connected through a central management platform designed to provide continuous oversight of the tunnel and its critical systems.

Indra said the platform would support earlier incident detection, coordinated operational responses and real-time decision-making, with interoperability, redundancy, cybersecurity and high availability built into its design. “The solution will be capable of centralizing the supervision of the critical systems, detecting and managing incidents, and supporting a coordinated operational response,” said Marcelo Peñailillo, Indra’s mobility market director in Chile.

The project includes around 3km of tunnelling across two bores beneath Cerro Lo Ruiz. These will form part of a wider 5.8km road link connecting the General Velásquez section of Autopista Central with the Américo Vespucio Norte motorway. The new connection is expected to ease congestion at the Quilicura Junction, one of Santiago’s busiest interchanges, and reduce some journeys between Renca and Quilicura by up to 20 minutes. VíasChile reported in July that construction was around 20% complete, with more than 375m excavated. The approximately US$450m scheme is scheduled for completion in 2029.