Road network in Colombia is made up of a primary road network (major highways operated by the nation), a secondary road network (operated by departments) and a tertiary road network (interdistrict highways or roads operated by municipalities). Colombia has a road network of approximately 206,102 km, of which 6.9% (16,983 km) correspond to the primary road network, 21% (44,400 km) to the secondary road network and 142,284 km (69.46%) to the tertiary road network.

The 4th generation (4G) of road concessions are the most ambitious road projects in the country's history. Estimated at an approximate cost of US$18 billion following a Public-Private Partnership model, 8,000 kilometers will be built, including 1,370 km of divided highways and 160 tunnels in more than 40 new concessions, thus these projects will improve relevant aspects such as travel times, social and economic benefits, producer benefits, road safety, connectivity, concession stretch maintenance, especially for cargo from manufacturing sites to export ports, and accessibility.

Works are expected to be executed in a maximum of 6 years from the date of award. Once 4G road construction is completed, one of the expected benefits will be a 30% reduction in travel times.

For Colombia, the project is a matter of national interest, considering high costs and long travel times for land transportation. Therefore, strategies here should contribute to achieving international competitiveness and infrastructure standards. With respect to travel times, about 80% of cargo is transported by road in Colombia through six main logistics corridors in Colombia: Bogotá-Buenaventura, Medellín-Villavicencio, Bogotá-Cúcuta-Caribe, Bogotá-Caribe, Rumichaca-Caribe and Medellín-Cúcuta.

Colombia's road structure is constantly facing challenges for several reasons as the structural and topographical conditions of the country are not the best, given that the three mountain ranges of the country give rise to gaps in connectivity.

Distance Matrix

Road Safety

To reduce crime incident rates during freight operations, the National Police's Criminal Investigation and Interpol Directorate (DIJIN) prepared a cargo transportation manual for transporters and cargo generators. This manual is aimed to guide logistics chain stakeholders in the application of rules and procedures to reduce crime incident rates during freight operations by following industry technical standards.

The National Police’s Transit and Transportation Directorate is the entity responsible for traffic surveillance and control of national road traffic operating with 45,000 traffic police officers throughout the country's road corridors.

To support the monitoring of major roads in terms of safety, Colombia has the TRANSPORTATION INFORMATION NETWORK (RIT in Spanish), which aims to provide the road freight transport sector with information that will help it make decisions quickly and effectively, thereby reducing risks, increasing productivity and making operations more profitable.

According to RIT data, the highest number of land piracy incidents are reported between October, November, December and January. Days with the highest incidence are Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. Highest incidence hours are 06:00 am to 12:00 pm and 4:00 pm to 8:00 pm.

Most affected places are entries and exits of the major cities such as Bogotá, Cali, Medellín and Barranquilla.

Roads with the highest number of crime incidents are:

1. Bogotá – Alto del Trigo – Dorada – Puerto Triunfo – Medellín.
2. Puerto Boyacá – Lizama – San Alberto – La Mata – El Copey – Bosconia – Carmen de Bolívar.
3. Buenaventura – Lobo Guerrero – Cali.
4. Honda - Bogotá
5. Lobo guerrero – Buga.
6. Tuluá – Calarcá Alto de la Línea (Cajamarca – Ibagué including variant).
7. Plan del Espinal (via Ibagué – Girardot).

Most stolen goods are household appliances, high-density polyethylene, textiles in general including finished products (garments), toiletries (toilet paper, soap, cleaning products), beauty products (make up) and automotive spare parts (motorcycles and vehicles).

Weight Limitation

Under Resolution 2498 of 2018, provisions were made for the control of gross vehicle weight for freight road vehicles registered as of January 1, 2013, for which vehicles must undergo the control of the gross vehicle weight at weight scales, which will be done taking as maximum limit the weight established by the manufacturer in the vehicle type approval.

If overweight is detected by the scale, a signal is generated and the offender’s vehicle is immobilized by the Highway Police with an additional fine.