National Route 7 (full name in Spanish: ''Ruta Nacional 7 Carretera Libertador General San Martín'') is a road in

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

. It crosses the country from east to west, from the capital (

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

) to the border with

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

, thus linking the

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

coast with the

Andes The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long, wide (widest between 18°S – 20°S ...

, crossing the

provinces A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outsi ...

, Santa Fe, Córdoba, San Luis and Mendoza. It has a total length of , of which (30%) are

freeway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway and expressway. Other similar terms ...

s. National Route 7 is a branch of the

Pan-American Highway The Pan-American Highway (french: (Auto)route panaméricaine/transaméricaine; pt, Rodovia/Auto-estrada Pan-americana; es, Autopista/Carretera/Ruta Panamericana) is a network of roads stretching across the Americas and measuring about in to ...

, continuing into Chile under the name of Route CH-60.

History

The origins of this route go back to the ''Western Camino Real'', which was used since the colonial era. The Western Camino Real started at

, ran through San Luis and Mendoza, and ended at Santiago de Chile. The road decreased in importance with the introduction of railways at the end of the 19th century. New settlements sprang up along the route, that were only served by the railway. With the improvements in automotive travel, the National Congress created the National Highway Directorate in 1932. In 1935, that organisation started work on a new road parallel to a railroad operated by

Buenos Aires and Pacific Railway The Buenos Aires and Pacific Railway (BA&P) (in Spanish: Ferrocarril Buenos Aires al Pacífico) was one of the ''Big Four'' broad gauge, , British-owned companies that built and operated railway networks in Argentina. The original concession w ...

(which later became

Ferrocarril General San Martín Futbol Club Sonsonate is a Salvadoran professional football club based in Sonsonate, El Salvador. The club plays its home games at Estadio Anna Mercedes Campos, a stadium located in the City suburb of Sonsonate, Sonsonate, since 2009. The team ...

). This route was given the number 7. In June 1942, work finished with the paving of the route between

Chacabuco Chacabuco is one of the many abandoned nitrate or "saltpeter" towns ("oficinas salitreras" in Spanish) in the Atacama Desert of northern Chile. Other nitrate towns of the Atacama Desert include Humberstone and Santa Laura Saltpeter Works. Unlik ...

and Junín. They built the paved section between Junín and Laboulaye using a slightly different route (a little to the south), which separated the railway from the towns, and sped up the transport on that section. On 2 October 1969, the 67 km between Rufino and Laboulaye was opened, and then the 165 km between Junín and Rufino followed on 28 October of the same year. The paving reached

Villa Mercedes Villa Mercedes is a city in the province of San Luis, Argentina. It lies on the center-east of the province, on the left-hand banks of the Quinto River, 32 km from the border with Córdoba, on National Route 148, and near the intersection ...

in 1975. Here it formed a junction with National Route 8. Route 8 gives the republic's capital access to the east of the country, and has been paved since 1940. Mendoza - Villavicencio - 20060107a

To reach Mendoza and Uspallata, the road goes through the "Caracoles de Villavicencio", a mountain section with altitudes of around 3000m, and 365 bends. Due to the danger of this part, they decided to create a new route in 1950. This would run along the banks of the

Mendoza River The Mendoza River is a river in the province of Mendoza, Argentina.San Martín San Martín or San Martin may refer to: People Saints * Saint Martin (disambiguation)#People, name of various saints in Spanish Political leaders *Vicente San Martin (1839 -1901), Military, National hero of Mexico. *Basilio San Martin (1849 ...

and Mendoza. The work was carried out in two sections of 25 km (Mendoza - Las Margaritas) and 17 km (Las Margaritas - San Martín). The first section was completed in 1977 and the second during 1979. The second stretch included the construction of a new bridge, allowing the road to cross the

Mendoza River The Mendoza River is a river in the province of Mendoza, Argentina.La Paz La Paz (), officially known as Nuestra Señora de La Paz (Spanish pronunciation: ), is the seat of government of the Bolivia, Plurinational State of Bolivia. With an estimated 816,044 residents as of 2020, La Paz is the List of Bolivian cities ...

, diverting it approximately 1.5 km to the north, to pass nearer some towns. These had been considered to be on the old route by the less demanding criteria of the time. The original 140 km section was transferred to the jurisdiction of Mendoza Province, and is now called Provincial Route 50. In 1979, National Directive 1595 transferred jurisdiction of the old Las Heras - Villavicencio - Uspallata (97.2 km) section to Mendoza Province, and it now forms Provincial Route 52. They also handed over the 53 km section from Luján de Cuyo to Potrerillos which is now Provincial Route 82, and the national orbit road linking the Mendoza section of Route 7 to Uspallata by way of Potrerillos. The road to the west of Uspallata and its bridges that are in use today was completed between 1978 and 1979. Ruta Nacional A006 (Argentina)

Another old section of Route 7 is the part leading to the Chilean border. This is a zigzagging road from Las Cuevas to La Cumbre Pass, where you can see the statue

Christ the Redeemer of the Andes ''Christ the Redeemer of the Andes'' ( es, Cristo Redentor de los Andes) is a monument high in the Principal Cordillera of the Andes at 3,832 metres (12,572 ft) above mean sea level on the border between Argentina and Chile. It was unveil ...

. There is a tunnel along the route belonging to the

Transandine Railway The Transandine Railway ( es, Ferrocarril Trasandino) was a combined rack ( Abt system) and adhesion railway which operated from Mendoza in Argentina, across the Andes mountain range via the Uspallata Pass, to Santa Rosa de Los Andes in Chi ...

, dating from 5 April 1910. This opened to mixed traffic in 1977, with the capacity to carry road transport as well as trains. A second tunnel (the

Paso Internacional Los Libertadores The Paso Internacional Los Libertadores, also called ''Cristo Redentor'', is a mountain pass in the Andes between Argentina and Chile. It is the main transport route out of the Chilean capital city Santiago into Mendoza city in Argentina and s ...

) opened on 23 May 1980, parallel to the first. Since the new tunnel opened, the road to La Cumbre Pass has only been used for tourist traffic and only opens during the summer. Its current name is

National Route A006 (Argentina) National Route A006 is a gravel road of connecting the town of Las Cuevas, Mendoza, Las Cuevas on the northwest of the province of Mendoza Province, Mendoza with the Christ the Redeemer of the Andes, Christ the Redeemer monument in the border be ...

. Access from the city of Buenos Aires to Luján was formerly by an avenue circling parallel to the tracks forming part of

Ferrocarril Domingo Faustino Sarmiento The Domingo Faustino Sarmiento Railway (FCDFS) (Spanish: Ferrocarril Domingo Faustino Sarmiento), named after the former Argentine president, statesman, educator, and author Domingo Faustino Sarmiento, is one of the six state-owned Argentine rai ...

. The road was known as

Avenida Rivadavia Avenida Rivadavia is one of the principal thoroughfares in Buenos Aires, Argentina, extending from downtown Buenos Aires to the western suburb of Merlo. History Upon the designation of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata by the Spanish ...

as far as Merlo. The government decided to hand this 52.55 km road over to Buenos Aires Province and to construct the Autopista Acceso Oeste to the north. This formed part of the Decree 1595 mentioned above. Buenos Aires Province eventually took it over in 1988, and the section of road became Provincial Route 7. "Access West", the highway joining Avenida General Paz with Luján, was built in various stages over more than 20 years. It was finally completed on 1 September 1998. The last section joined Avenida General Paz with Morón. Building the road involved demolishing several kilometres of houses, because the road had to pass through the urban zones of Greater Buenos Aires. Antigua traza de la RN 7 en el Embalse Potrerillos

Antigua traza de la RN 7 en el Embalse Potrerillos

In May 2001, construction started on the 212 km expressway (incorrectly known as a highway) in San Luis Province. It was funded by the province. It opened on 16 April 2003 and has the distinction of having lights along its entire length. It takes a slightly different route to the original road around the provincial capital and passes further south, i.e. further from the city centre. San Luis Provincial Law No. VIII-0258-2004 calls it "Autopista de las Serranías Puntanas" ''("The Foothills of San Luis Highway")''. The old 11.6 km section of road that it replaced passed into provincial jurisdiction. The government of San Luis converted it into an expressway which opened on 27 July 2007 as ''Avenida Parque Gobernador José Santos Ortiz. Due to the construction of the Potrerillos Dam to the southwest of the city of Mendoza, they decided to build 10 km of road in a higher zone with two road bridges. This section opened on 23 August 2004. This part of the route generated controversy during the planning period because it passed through an important paleontological deposit.

The Santa Fe section

Due to the growth of Laguna La Picasa ( :es:Laguna La Picasa) between 1998 and 1999, 14.5 km of the road was flooded. The affected area was between Aarón Castellanos and

Diego de Alvear Diego is a Spanish masculine given name. The Portuguese equivalent is Diogo. The name also has several patronymic derivations, listed below. The etymology of Diego is disputed, with two major origin hypotheses: ''Tiago'' and ''Didacus''. E ...

, along the border between the provinces of Santa Fe and Buenos Aires. This prompted the road to be rerouted on 19 April 1999. The vehicles used a gravel track for 32 km, adding 17 km on to the original length of the road. Then they started to lower the water level in the lake by means of a pumping station in Rufino. That station will be complemented by another (not yet built) to the south of the lake. Ruta Nacional 7 en la Laguna La Picasa

Work started to repair the damaged section of road on 1 February 2006. It used stones brought from a quarry in San Luis Province. The stones were coated with mesh. By July 2006, they had joined up to the basalt stones on both sides of the lake. This allowed trucks to use the track, allowing them to continue with the work of raising the road. The road was to be raised 2 metres above the lake's maximum water level. In normal conditions it would be 6 metres above the lake's surface. The work includes a 60 m bridge in the centre of the lake. It is built in three 20 m sections, each with a lane for both directions of traffic. This 10.5 km section came into use by traffic on 10 June 2007. The construction was given the 2007 Road Engineering Works'' award by the Argentina Road Association, which covers all the provinces, industry and National Government sector.

Cities

National Route 7 passes through several cities with a population of greater than 5000. These are listed below.

Buenos Aires Province

The route runs through 364 km of the north of

Buenos Aires Province Buenos Aires (), officially the Buenos Aires Province (''Provincia de Buenos Aires'' ), is the largest and most populous Argentine province. It takes its name from the city of Buenos Aires, the capital of the country, which used to be part of th ...

for km 12 - 376 of its total length. The road passes through the following partidos: * Tres de Febrero (km 12-15): Ciudadela (km 13). * Morón (km 15-24): El Palomar (km 17), Haedo (km 19) and

Castelar Castelar is a city in Morón Partido (county), Buenos Aires Province, Argentina, some 30 km west of the nation's capital, the autonomous city of Buenos Aires. It forms part of the Greater Buenos Aires metropolitan area. Castelar is the w ...

(km 24). * Ituzaingó (km 24-30): Ituzaingó (km 29). *

Moreno Moreno may refer to: Places Argentina *Moreno (Buenos Aires Metro), a station on Line C of the Buenos Aires Metro *Moreno, Buenos Aires, a city in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina *Moreno Department, a depatnent of Santiago del Estero Province, A ...

(km 30-44):

Paso del Rey Paso del Rey is a city located 35.5 km west of Buenos Aires, in Moreno, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. Paso del Rey (''King's Ford'') takes its name from the estancia (ranch) owned by Senator Amancio Jacinto Alcorta: ''Estancia Paso del ...

(km 32),

(km 37) and La Reja (km 39). *

General Rodríguez General Rodríguez is a city within the urban agglomeration of Greater Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. It is the administrative centre for General Rodríguez Partido. The triple crime The Triple crime ( es, Triple crimen) to ...

(km 44-56):

(km 52). * Luján (km 56-90): Luján (km 67). *

San Andrés de Giles San Andrés de Giles is a town in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. It is the administrative seat An administrative center is a seat of regional administration or local government, or a county town, or the place where the central administration ...

(km 90-130):

(km 103). *

Carmen de Areco Carmen de Areco is a town in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. It is the administrative centre for Carmen de Areco Partido. History In 1779, Viceroy Vértiz ordered Lieutenant Colonel Francisco Bergezé de Ducás to reinforce the line of defence ...

(km 130-166):

(km 138). *

(km 166-237):

(km 203). * Junín (km 237-291): Junín (km 260). * Leandro N. Alem (km 291-347): Vedia (km 315). * General Pinto (km 347-376): no settlement with greater than 5000 inhabitants.

Santa Fe Province

The road runs for 56 km in the extreme south-east of this province. This stretch starts 376 km into the total length, and leaves the province at 432 km. *

General López Department The General López Department (in Spanish, ''Departamento General López'') is an administrative subdivision (''departamento'') of the province of Santa Fe, Argentina. It is located in the south of the province. Its head town is Melincué (popula ...

(km 376-432): Rufino (km 426)

Córdoba Province

The road runs for 222 km in the south of Córdoba Province, for kilometres 432-654. * Presidente Roque Sáenz Peña Department (km 432-551): Laboulaye (km 490) and General Levalle (km 540). *

Río Cuarto Department Río Cuarto Department is a department of Córdoba Province in Argentina. The provincial subdivision has a population of about 229,728 inhabitants in an area of 18,394 km², and its capital city is Río Cuarto, which is located around 608&nbs ...

(km 551-654): Vicuña Mackenna (km 586).

San Luis Province

The road runs through

San Luis Province San Luis () is a province of Argentina located near the geographical center of the country (on the 32° South parallel). Neighboring provinces are, from the north clockwise, La Rioja, Córdoba, La Pampa, Mendoza and San Juan. History The ci ...

for 221 km. It passes through the centre of the province for km 654 to 865. * General Pedernera Department (km 654-730): Justo Daract (km 661) and

(km 696). * Colonel Pringles Department (km 730-759): no settlements with population greater than 5000. * La Capital Department (km 759-865): San Luis (km 788).

Mendoza Province

The route runs through 372 km of the north of

Mendoza Province Mendoza, officially Province of Mendoza, is a province of Argentina, in the western central part of the country in the Cuyo region. It borders San Juan to the north, La Pampa and Neuquén to the south, San Luis to the east, and the republic o ...

for km 865-1237. * La Paz Department (km 865-926):

La Paz La Paz (), officially known as Nuestra Señora de La Paz (Spanish pronunciation: ), is the seat of government of the Bolivia, Plurinational State of Bolivia. With an estimated 816,044 residents as of 2020, La Paz is the List of Bolivian cities ...

(km 905). * Santa Rosa Department (km 926-981): No settlement with more than 5000 inhabitants, except for the capital

Santa Rosa Santa Rosa is the Italian, Portuguese and Spanish name for Saint Rose. Santa Rosa may also refer to: Places Argentina *Santa Rosa, Mendoza, a city * Santa Rosa, Tinogasta, Catamarca * Santa Rosa, Valle Viejo, Catamarca * Santa Rosa, La Pampa * S ...

(km 966). * San Martín Department (km 981-1011):

San Martín San Martín or San Martin may refer to: People Saints * Saint Martin (disambiguation)#People, name of various saints in Spanish Political leaders *Vicente San Martin (1839 -1901), Military, National hero of Mexico. *Basilio San Martin (1849 ...

(km 999-1004) and Palmira (km 1007-1012). * Maipú Department (km 1011-1027): Rodeo del Medio (km 1022). *

Guaymallén Department Guaymallén is a central department of Mendoza Province in Argentina. The provincial subdivision has a population of about 250,000 inhabitants in an area of , and its capital city is Villa Nueva, which is located around from Buenos Aires. Hi ...

(km 1027-1040): Rodeo de la Cruz and Villa Nueva. * Luján de Cuyo Department (km 1054-1139): Perdriel (km 1054). *

Las Heras Department Las Heras is a department located in the north west of Mendoza Province in Argentina. The provincial subdivision has a population of about 183,000 inhabitants in an area of , and its capital city is Las Heras, which is located around from the ...

(km 1139-1237): no settlement with greater than 5000 inhabitants. Tourist sites:

Uspallata Uspallata is a village and administrative district in Argentina, in a scenic location on the road that crosses the Andes between Mendoza and Santiago in Chile. It is located west of Mendoza and was once served by the now disused Transandine R ...

(km 1141), Los Penitentes (km 1212),

Puente del Inca Puente del Inca (English "Bridge of the Inca"), is a natural arch that forms a bridge over the Las Cuevas River, a tributary of the Mendoza River. It is located near the small village of , in Las Heras Department, Mendoza Province, Argentina. Th ...

(km 1219) and Las Cuevas (km 1232). In the section overlapping

National Route 40 The following highways are numbered 40: International * European route E40 Argentina * National Route 40 Australia * NSW State Route 40 (Windsor Road and Victoria Road in Sydney) * Victorian State Route 40 * Mulligan Highway (Queensland) B ...

, the road passes through Dorrego in Guaymallén Department and

Luján de Cuyo Luján de Cuyo is the district capital of the Luján de Cuyo Department located in the west of the Mendoza Province of Argentina. It forms part of the Greater Mendoza metropolitan area. Wine It was the first delineated appellation An appella ...

in the department of the same name.

Tollbooths and services

The road carries heavy traffic, so there are a lot of service stations along its length. But until 2004, the Junín - Villa Mercedes section did not have any service stations selling

compressed natural gas Compressed natural gas (CNG) is a fuel gas mainly composed of methane (CH4), compressed to less than 1% of the volume it occupies at standard atmospheric pressure. It is stored and distributed in hard containers at a pressure of , usually in cy ...

(CNG), so vehicles that relied on this fuel diverted along National Route 8 instead.

Buenos Aires Province

* km 15: Shell service station (Ciudadela) * km 26: Tollbooth (Ituzaingó) * km 26: Shell service station (Ituzaingó) * km 56: ACA service station (General Rodríguez) * km 57: Tollbooth (Luján) * km 62: ACA service station (Luján) * km 65: Shell service station (Luján) * km 87,5: Tollbooth (Villa Espil) * km 97: YPF service station (San Andrés de Giles) * km 103: YPF service station (San Andrés de Giles) * km 139: ACA service station (Carmen de Areco) * km 140: Shell service station (Carmen de Areco) * km 140: Petrobras service station (Carmen de Areco) * km 212: CNG service station (Chacabuco)Enargas,
Lista de estaciones de GNC por provincia
''. Retrieved 11 December 2009. * km 246: YPF service station (La Agraria) * km 258: Independent service station (Junín) * km 258: Esso service station (Junín) * km 259: YPF service station (Junín) * km 261: Petrobras service station (Junín) * km 272: Tollbooth (Junín) * km 301: Shell service station (Leandro N. Alem) * km 312: Shell service station (Vedia) * km 316: CNG service station (Vedia) * km 342: Shell service station (Juan B. Alberdi) * km 353: YPF service station (Iriarte) * km 369: YPF service station (Diego de Alvear )

Santa Fe Province

* km 425: Shell service station (Rufino)

Córdoba Province

* km 490: Shell service station (Laboulaye) * km 490: YPF service station (Laboulaye) * km 541: CNG service station (General Levalle) * km 592: Tollbooth (Vicuña Mackenna)

San Luis Province

* km 657: Tollbooth (Justo Daract) * km 689: YPF service station (Villa Mercedes) * km 696: ACA service station (Villa Mercedes) * km 730: YPF service station (Fraga) * km 761: Tollbooth (La Cumbre) * km 783: YPF service station (Bella Vista) * km 863: Tollbooth (Desaguadero) Ruta-nacional-7-mendoza

Mendoza Province

* km 899: Tollbooth (La Paz) * km 901: CNG service station (La Paz) * km 936: ACA service station (La Paz) * km 941: YPF service station (La Dormida) * km 955: CNG service station (Las Catitas) * km 1019: YPF service station (Fray Luis Beltrán) * km 1028: YPF service station (Rodeo de La Cruz) * km 1146: Shell service station (Uspallata) * km 1146: ACA service station (Uspallata) * km 1235: Tollbooth (Las Cuevas)

Road conditions

Route 7 is a highway or expressway over the following sections: * km 12 to 22: Avenida General Paz to Camino de Cintura (a section of Access West), opened 1 September 1998. * km 22 to 38: Camino de Cintura to Moreno (a section of Access West), opened in 1984.Excel of the largest structures in 2003 - National Director of Highways * km 38 to 60: Moreno to the junction with Provincial Route 6, opened in 1970. * km 60 to 75: Provincial Route 6 to Luján (a section of Access West). * km 258 to 261: Junín city crossroads. * km 654 to 865: The whole of San Luis Province, opened 16 April 2003. * km 868 to 888: From Desaguadero to the tollbooth, opened 16 December 2011. * km 906 to 954: From La Paz to Las Catitas, opened to the public on 3 March 2011. * km 954 to 965: From Las Catitas to Santa Rosa (opened 4 March 2010). * km 965 to 999: From Santa Rosa to San Martín (opened 5 October 2007). * km 999 to 1015: From San Martín to Palmira (a section of Access East), opened in 1979. * km 1015 to 1041: From Palmira to Mendoza (a section of Access East), opened in 1977. * km 1041 to 1064: From Mendoza to Agrelo (superimposed over

). The project of converting the road into a highway will complete with the section from Luján (km 75) to Junín (km 263). Construction is hoped to finish on this section in the next few years. In various sections between Agrelo and Potrerillos, and between Uspallata and Las Cuevas, only the uphill lane has two carriageways. This makes it easier for motorists to overtake trucks driving up the mountains. Ice and snow tend to accumulate on the roads during the winter, so tyre chains are given out. At these times the maximum speed is . The chains must be removed when the car is driving on asphalt, because this ruins the chains and risks puncturing the tyres. Before setting off on the Andes crossing, road users are advised to check up on the state of the road. The National Gendarmarie run an AM and FM radio station that gives information on road conditions, plays music and reads the day's news headlines. Tunel-ruta-7-mendoza

There are 14 tunnels between Luján de Cuyo and Las Cuevas. The maximum speed here is because there are hidden bends coming out of many of these tunnels. The table on the right shows the tunnels in 2004. Work started on tunnels 2 and 8 on 1 October 2003 and finished on 31 July 2005. Between them they cover 500 m.Dirección Nacional de Vialidad - Informe por programa - Ejercicio 2006
/ref> Tunnel 1 is on the outskirts of Cacheuta, on Provincial Route 82 (an old stretch of National Route 7) and it is closed. The route now passes outside the mountain next to

Mendoza River The Mendoza River is a river in the province of Mendoza, Argentina. The 180 km stretch between National Route 40 and the Chilean border has been managed by recovery and maintenance contracts since 1 January 2007. Prior to that, this section had been maintained directly by the National Highways Directorate.

Transit

Speed limits

The maximum speed limit for cars and motorcycles is 120 km/h on the expressway sections and 100 km/h on the dual carriageway sections outside urban areas. In the mountain zones the maximum speed is 80 km/h in some sections and 60 km/h in others. The speed limit in tunnels is 40 km/h. The maximum speed for buses is 90 km/h or the maximum for cars on that section, whichever is lowest. For trucks it is either 80 km/h or the maximum for trucks, whichever is lowest.

Transport measurements

In order to prioritise which roads to improve and which road junctions to build, the National Highways Directorate have divided the national road network into 1,200 sections of uniform traffic. Route 7 is divided into 20 sections in Buenos Aires, 2 in Santa Fe, 5 in Córdoba, 13 in San Luis and 15 in Mendoza. The annual daily average traffic is calculated for each section. This is done by dividing the total number of vehicles travelling there each year by the number of days in the year (either 365 or 366). The graph shows the annual average daily traffic for 2001. The graph is not continuous and does not show the urban areas. Neither does it show the section of Route 7 that is contiguous with National Route 40 in the outskirts of Mendoza city. The section with the highest traffic is the most eastern 10 km of the route, with an annual average daily load of 82,500 vehicles per day in 2001. This value decreases as the distance to Buenos Aires city increases. There were only 6,550 vehicles per day in that year to the west of the former National Route 192, 60 km from the start of the route, where the rural zone begins. The lowest volume of traffic occurs around La Picasa Lake where the route has been cut off by water since the measurements began. Here there are 1,150 purely local vehicles. Around 3,000 vehicles per day travel through the rural areas of Córdoba, while San Luis has 4,000 vehicles per day due to the Villa Mercedes junction with National Route 8. From the city of San Martín in Mendoza province, on the edge of the rural zone, to the outskirts of Mendoza city, the traffic ranges between 5,400 and 63,400 vehicles per day. Finally, the section between the superposition with National Route 40 and the national border, the value is around 1,500 vehicles per day.

Geography

The graph on the right shows the height of the road as it runs through Mendoza Province. On the west of the province, the route runs through the main and front ranges, and passes only 18 km south of

Aconcagua Aconcagua () is a mountain in the Principal Cordillera of the Andes mountain range, in Mendoza Province, Argentina. It is the List of highest mountains on Earth, highest mountain in the Americas, the highest outside Asia, and the highest in the ...

, the highest mountain in the Americas. You can see the mountain from a viewpoint at 1222 km. From the east of Uspallata to the city of Mendoza, the route runs through the

foothills Foothills or piedmont are geographically defined as gradual increases in elevation at the base of a mountain range, higher hill range or an upland area. They are a transition zone between plains and low relief hills and the adjacent topograp ...

. Until the construction of the Túnel del Cristo Redentor in 1980, the route finished at 3,832 msnm at Paso Internacional de la Cumbre, where it ended at the statue of

Due to the extreme height, the mountain pass is cut off for several days during the winter months because of snowdrifts on the road. To relieve the situation, they started to pave National Route 145 in the southwest of Mendoza Province, which joins the neighbouring republic to the Pehuenche passage lower down so it doesn't have the same problem. The graph on the left shows the height of the road between the junction with National Route 40 on the outskirts of Mendoza city and Avenida General Paz. From the eastern part of Mendoza province, the route runs through the Great

Plain In geography, a plain is a flat expanse of land that generally does not change much in elevation, and is primarily treeless. Plains occur as lowlands along valleys or at the base of mountains, as coastal plains, and as plateaus or uplands ...

of Travesia. The plain slopes down towards the Desaguadero River, which is the provincial border with San Luis. In that province there are some higher sections near the

Sierras pampeanas The Sierras Pampeanas (also called Central Sierras or Pampas Sierras) (English: Pampas Mountains) is a geographical region of Argentina. The Sierras Pampeanas are a chain of mountains that rise sharply from the surrounding pampa region of ...

. This part doesn't cause any traffic problems because this part of Route 7 is an autopista. After running through some frequently flooded areas in Córdoba and Santa Fe provinces (mainly the latter), it runs past several lakes in Santa Fe province and the east of Buenos Aires province. Then it continues through the Ondulada

pampas The Pampas (from the qu, pampa, meaning "plain") are fertile South American low grasslands that cover more than and include the Argentine provinces of Buenos Aires, La Pampa, Santa Fe, Entre Ríos, and Córdoba; all of Uruguay; and Brazil ...

until it reaches the republic's capital.

Tourism

National Route 7 passes through several places of interest to tourists. In Luján you can visit the

Basilica of Our Lady of Luján The Minor Basilica of Our Lady of Luján ( es, Basílica Menor de Nuestra Señora de Luján) is a Roman Catholic church building in Luján, Buenos Aires, Argentina. Built in Neogothic Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo ...

, built between 1887 and 1935. This is one of the most important in the country. It is the focus of annual pilgrimages along the old section of the road (now Provincial Route 7) from the barrio Liniers. The city also has a municipal spa on the river of the same name, the museum of transport and Enrique Udaondo Museum Complex, along with several other museums. Junín is the main tourist centre in the lake district of Buenos Aires. The biggest attraction is the Lake Gómez natural park, which is ideal for water sports, relaxation and fishing. The Chiquita Sea, El Carpincho Lake and Lake Gómez all lie within 10 km of the city. Junín is also the home of numerous cultural and sporting events, such as the Pejerrey Provincial Festival, the Fiambre Casero Regional Festival and the Spring Festival. Rufina holds the National Livestock Festival in the second half of October. The best examples of animals from the region are exhibited there. Villa Mercedes has the Santiago Betbeder Museum, with an exhibition containing old carriages, a grocery store and a chapel. In the outskirts of San Luis there is a mountain circuit, with the La Florida and Cruz de Piedra reservoirs and a

waterfall A waterfall is a point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf. Waterfalls can be formed in several wa ...

at Potrero de los Funes. You can visit

vineyard A vineyard (; also ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines, grown mainly for winemaking, but also raisins, table grapes and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is known as viticulture. Vineyards ...

s around Mendoza, with visitor guides and several wineries. In the city of Mendoza itself, there are various museums, the foundation area (the old city centre before the

1861 Mendoza earthquake The 1861 Mendoza earthquake occurred in the province of Mendoza, Argentina on 20 March at 11:30 PM. It had an estimated magnitude of 7.2 on the scale and an intensity of IX–X on the Mercalli scale. Its hypocenter was located at an estimated d ...

) and the General San Martín Park. The park has a lake, a zoo and the estate of the City University. It also contains

Cerro de la Gloria The ''Cerro de la Gloria'' (''Glory Hill'') is a small mount located in the city of Mendoza, Argentina, at the General San Martín Park. It features a huge memorial monument to the Army of the Andes at the top. The monument is the work of Uruguaya ...

which can be accessed by vehicles and has a statue of

General San Martín A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED O ...

. The whole city can be viewed from the top of this mountain. There is a

ski resort A ski resort is a resort developed for skiing, snowboarding, and other winter sports. In Europe, most ski resorts are towns or villages in or adjacent to a ski area – a mountainous area with pistes (ski trails) and a ski lift system. In North ...

at Los Penitentes in the high mountain zones. There is a natural bridge over Las Cuevas River at

. The bridge was uncrossable in 2006 because of the risk of collapse. There is also the Andinista Cemetery, the entrance to

Aconcagua Provincial Park Aconcagua Provincial Park is a Provincial Park located in the Mendoza Province in Argentina. The Andes mountain range draws all types of thrill seekers ranging in difficulty including hiking, climbing, skiing, etc. Besides it draws history lovers ...

, several viewpoints, and a zigzag road leading to the Chilean border where the Cristo Redentor statue stands.

References

External links

Autopistas del Oeste
(concessionaire)
Vial Andes
(concessionaire) {{DEFAULTSORT:National Route 007 (Argentina) National roads in Buenos Aires Province National roads in Santa Fe Province National roads in Córdoba Province, Argentina National roads in San Luis Province National roads in Mendoza Province