MOP modifies Route 5 Collipulli-Temuco concession to install Free Flow electronic tolling

The Ministry of Public Works (MOP) modified, for reasons of public interest, the characteristics of the works and services of the “International Concession Route 5 Collipulli – Temuco Section” and approved Ad-Referendum Agreement No. 10, signed with Ruta de la Araucanía Sociedad Concesionaria S.A. The decision is contained in Supreme Decree MOP No. 180, dated July 13, 2026, published in the Official Gazette No. 44,562 on Wednesday, September 30, 2026, Section II, under the official reference CVE 2872832.

The decree is issued under Article 19 of the Public Works Concessions Law (DFL MOP No. 164 of 1991, consolidated in Supreme Decree MOP No. 900 of 1996) and Article 69 of its Regulations, and bears the signature of the Minister of Public Works, Louis de Grange Concha, and the Minister of Finance, under the formula “by order of the President of the Republic.”

The concession comprises kilometers 574.177 to 718.335 of Route 5 South, including the By Pass to the city of Temuco, and was awarded by Supreme Decree MOP No. 443, dated April 20, 1998. The MOP justifies the modification based on the “sustained increase in vehicle flow” on Route 5 South, especially on weekends, long holidays, and summer periods, which has generated “significant congestion and high waiting times” at the Troncal PUA and Troncal Quepe plazas. The project was approved by the Ministry of Finance through Official Letter Ord. No. 2771, dated December 16, 2025.

Electronic tolling without vehicle stoppage

The project “Implementation of Free Flow System for Collipulli – Temuco” provides for electronic tolling gantries at the Troncal Quepe and Troncal PUA plazas, with three lanes per direction of traffic, of which two will be enabled and a third will be constructed for a potential expansion. Additionally, two manual tolling side lanes per direction will be enabled, adjacent to the free-flow lanes, for vehicles that do not have a TAG device.

To use the Free Flow points, the user must have a current TAG lease agreement signed with a concessionary company of the Interoperable System, or acquire a complementary system in the case of infrequent users. The concessionary company may fulfill these requirements through a third party authorized by the MOP, referred to as the Operator.

Mixed Stop & Go lanes in the side plazas

In the side tolls, at least one existing manual booth will be transformed into a mixed modality, with universal access Stop & Go type lanes, usable with both TAG and cash payment:

• Victoria Norte: 1 manual lane and 1 mixed.
• Victoria Sur: 1 manual and 1 mixed.
• Lautaro Centro: 1 manual and 1 mixed.
• Lautaro Sur: 2 manuals and 1 mixed.
• Temuco Norte: 4 mixed.
• Cunco: 1 manual and 1 mixed.
• Temuco Sur: 3 manuals and 1 dedicated Stop & Go lane.
• Pitrufquén: 1 manual and 1 mixed.

In total, the current 21 manual lanes change to 7 manuals, 13 mixed, and 1 dedicated.

Deadlines, fines, and compensations

• Phase 1 (demolition of booths and civil works): 6 months from the approval of the PID by the Fiscal Inspector.
• Phase 2 (assembly and integration of electronic tolling): 2 months.
• Phase 3 (final cleaning and clearing): 1 month.
• Acquisition of technological equipment: 100 days.
• Fines of 5 UTM per day of delay in reports and guarantees; 20 UTM per day in Phases 1 and 3; 50 UTM for failure to comply with the Communication Plan; 100 UTM for failures in safeguarding user privacy.
• Guarantees: bank guarantees for UF 12,681.87 (civil works) and UF 4,660.48 (equipment); civil liability insurance for UF 25,000 and catastrophe insurance for UF 346,847.05.
• Compensation: an extended concession term, without interruption, until the last day of the month in which the last of two deadlines expires: 12 months from the end date set in Ad-Referendum Agreement No. 9 (MOP Supreme Decree No. 142, 2023) and 14 months from the publication of the decree.
• Maximum amount for service changes and channel modification: UF 190,470.41, net of VAT.

No expropriations or environmental evaluation

The decree states that the project does not require expropriations and that the execution of the works and the implementation of the equipment shall not be subject to the Environmental Impact Assessment System. Ad-Referendum Agreement No. 10, dated June 5, 2026, was signed by the Acting Director General of Public Works Concessions, Juan Eduardo Chackiel Torres, and by Pablo Anguita Mackay and Andrés Contreras Herrera on behalf of the concessionaire, and is fully effective from the publication of the supreme decree.

The modification affects the main route of southern Chile and the users traveling between Collipulli and Temuco, who will see manual tolling replaced by free-flow gantries and mixed lanes. The change also extends the concession term and sets new guarantees and fines for the concessionaire company, with deadlines beginning to run from the publication of the decree in the Official Gazette.

Source: Official Gazette of the Republic of Chile, No. 44,562, September 30, 2026, Section II, page 1 (official reference: CVE 2872832).