SEA reopens citizen participation for new bridges on the Route 5 Talca-Chillán

The Environmental Evaluation Service (SEA), under the Ministry of the Environment, has reopened public participation in the environmental evaluation of the project for new bridges on Route 5 South between Talca and Chillán. The decision is contained in exempt resolution No. 202699101882, dated October 8, 2026, and notified on October 9, and was published via extract in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Chile No. 44,582, on Saturday, October 24, 2026, Section I, pages 1 to 3, under official reference CVE 2890696. Natural or legal persons will have 30 business days to submit observations, counted from the business day following the publication.

The procedure that triggered the reopening

The extract corresponds to Letter No. 2026990033, dated October 21, 2026, signed by Rodrigo Andrés Román Berguecio, of the Executive Directorate of the SEA, and addressed to Shuyuan Lou, legal representative of Sociedad Concesionaria Ruta 5 Talca-Chillán S.A., domiciled at Cerro El Plomo 5420, office 1501, Santiago.

On September 28, 2026, the holder submitted the Complementary Addendum to the Environmental Impact Study, which responds to the Complementary ICSARA. Upon incorporating these clarifications, the SEA found that the project is substantively modified and that two new significant impacts are generated, which activates article 92 of DS No. 40/2012 of the Ministry of the Environment, which approves the Regulations of the Environmental Impact Evaluation System. The extract is ordered by virtue of article 28 of Law No. 19,300 and article 88 of the same regulation.

Two new impacts and their measures

The new significant impacts detected are concentrated in the Air Quality and Human Environment components during the construction phase:

• Resettlement due to expropriation of Lot 413-E2, with a compensation measure consisting of a Resettlement Plan.
• Alteration of air quality due to increase of PM2.5 in a Saturated Zone, with a compensation measure through an Emissions Compensation Program for PM2.5 and the replacement of heaters.

To these are added the impacts already identified in the original EIA, all associated with riparian wetland vegetation: edge effect in single-span and three-or-more-span bridges, mitigated with vegetation hydration, and loss of vegetation cover, repaired with vegetation replacement in the same sectors.

Works, investment, and territory involved

The project contemplates the demolition and removal of 13 existing structures and their replacement by new structures at the same location on the Route, the construction of 4 new bridges on local streets parallel to Route 5 South, and 2 widenings or third-lane expansions on existing bridges. The estimated investment amounts to USD$ 35,079,505 and the useful life is declared as indefinite.

The site area covers 10 communes:

• Maule Region: Villa Alegre, Linares, Longaví, Retiro, and Parral.
• Ñuble Region: Ñiquén, San Carlos, San Nicolás, Chillán, and Chillán Viejo.

In San Nicolás and Chillán, no project works are located, but they record actions associated with truck traffic along the Route.

How and where to submit observations

Observations must be submitted in writing, with grounds referring to the environmental assessment of the project, and must indicate the name of the project, the full name of the applicant, RUT, postal address, email, and contact telephone; legal entities must prove legal personality and current representation. The channels are the portal www.sea.gob.cl, the Virtual Filing Office, and the physical filing offices of the Executive Directorate and the regional directorates of Maule and Ñuble.

The electronic file, the Addendum, the Complementary Addendum, and the exempt resolution are available free of charge in the e-SEIA system. They may also be consulted at the Executive Directorate (Huérfanos 670, 16th floor, Santiago), at SEA Maule (2 Oriente 946, Talca), at the Regional Government of Maule (1 Norte 711, Talca), at SEA Ñuble (Constitución 288, Chillán), at the Regional Government of Ñuble (Libertad s/n, Chillán), and at the municipalities of the ten communes, Monday to Friday during morning hours.

Impact for readers

The reopening of the process automatically suspends the legal processing period of the EIA and puts the ball back in the court of the residents of ten communes in Maule and Ñuble, who until now had not had the opportunity to comment on the resettlement of Lot 413-E2 nor on the increase of fine particulate matter in an area declared saturated. The SEA further warns that the summary does not constitute a pronouncement on the environmental qualification of the project.

Source: Official Gazette of the Republic of Chile, No. 44,582, October 24, 2026, Section I, pp. 1-3 (official reference: CVE 2890696).