Overview
- The Paso Internacional Cristo Redentor reopened for cargo traffic after 34 days closed by heavy snow and ice, with the one-way, timed schedule that began Tuesday prioritizing trucks over private cars.
- Officials used escorted 'capsules' and staggered windows to move the backlog, reporting about 1,350–1,520 trucks per day and roughly 2,870 trucks cleared in the first two days.
- Tourism and private vehicle crossings remain suspended while daily operations are tied to mountain weather forecasts and joint Argentine–Chilean coordination for safety.
- Transport groups estimate costs of US$450–US$600 per truck per day during the shutdown and warned the stoppage caused multi‑million-dollar losses for Mendoza exporters who route roughly 70% of their land exports through the pass.
- Business leaders and provincial officials called for changing the corridor’s management, proposing private contracts, international tenders, or a binational concession to fund specialized snow‑clearing equipment and speed future reopenings.