Overview
- Municipal decrees 2188 and 2189, signed in September with retroactive effect to June, set a fee of 17,670,949.44 pesos per bridge for three months plus 8,417,134.18 pesos in insurance, totaling about 43 million pesos for two structures.
- Defense officials say the arrangement is a standard, non‑commercial maintenance canon after the initial emergency period and deny any threat by the Armed Forces to remove the bridges.
- Bahía Blanca’s public works secretary, Gustavo Trankels, says the city agreed to pay to avoid losing the bridges, alleging they were told the structures would otherwise be taken down.
- The Compact Bailey crossings at Malvinas and Santa Cruz remain operational for light vehicles only, with a 10 km/h limit and prohibitions on pedestrians and heavy traffic.
- Political criticism intensified as opposition figures decried the charges and referenced the President’s June veto of a 200 billion‑peso federal aid bill, while provincial reconstruction plans continue.