Three Cuenca Roads Close Tuesday Afternoon for ETAPA Work — Here's Your 20-Minute Detour Plan

Quick Closure, Big Impact

If you drive anywhere near the Guangarcucho sector on Tuesday afternoon, heads up: three major roads are closing simultaneously for 20 minutes.

ETAPA EP — Cuenca's water and sanitation utility — is conducting rock removal operations as part of the ongoing Guangarcucho Wastewater Treatment Plant construction project. This is the third scheduled closure in the series, and it will briefly shut down some of Cuenca's most-traveled routes.

The Closure Details

Road	What It Connects
Autopista Cuenca–Azogues	Cuenca to Azogues and points north
Panamericana Norte	Northern highway through the highlands
Vía a Jadán	Route to Jadán parish

• Date: Tuesday, February 25, 2026
• Time: 3:20 PM to 3:40 PM
• Duration: 20 minutes
• Location: Guangarcucho sector (where all three roads converge)

What to Do

The closure window is short but the timing is tricky — mid-afternoon on a weekday when these roads carry steady traffic.

If you're driving north:

• Leave before 3:00 PM to clear the area, or
• Wait until 3:45 PM to avoid any residual backup
• Expect 10-15 minutes of congestion on either side of the closure window as traffic clears

If you're heading to Azogues or the airport:

• The Cuenca-Azogues autopista is the most direct route to the airport area. Factor in the closure if you have a late-afternoon flight.

If you can avoid the area entirely:

• Consider alternative routes through the city center for north-south travel during this window

Why the Closures

The Guangarcucho Wastewater Treatment Plant is one of Cuenca's largest infrastructure projects. When completed, it will significantly upgrade the city's sewage treatment capacity — a major environmental and public health improvement.

Rock removal operations require clearing all traffic from the blast zone for safety. Previous closures in this series have run on schedule, so expect this one to be similarly punctual.

More Closures Coming?

ETAPA has described this as the "third closure" in the series, suggesting more may follow as construction progresses. We'll update you when the next one is announced.

Twenty minutes isn't long — but if you're stuck in the backup without knowing why, it feels like forever. Now you know.

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Source: El Mercurio