Argentine Andes snow closes border crossings and strands trucks

Argentine Andes snow border crossings remained disrupted after more than a week of severe weather shut key routes into Chile, AFP reported. The storm forced more than 100 evacuations, left almost 1,000 trucks waiting on snowed-in roads and caused flight diversions on Monday.

The Puente del Inca crossing in western Mendoza province, a major route between Argentina and Chile, was closed after more than three meters, or 10 feet, of snow fell in the area, according to AFP. Truckers told the news agency they had been stopped in the same place for as long as eight days.

Authorities evacuated about 110 people in Mendoza since the snowfall began more than a week earlier, AFP reported. The crossing sits in high mountain terrain where snow piled heavily on roads and buildings.

Why are Argentina-Chile border crossings closed?

The crossings were closed because extreme snowfall made high-altitude roads unsafe or impassable, according to AFP. Puente del Inca was among the affected routes, and additional crossings were shut in the provinces of Catamarca, Rio Negro, Neuquén and Chubut.

Deputy local police commissioner Oscar Fernandez told AFP that the weather improved over the weekend, allowing crews to use a short break in conditions to reach the Puente del Inca border post. He said snow on rooftops there was nearly two meters deep.

Fernandez also warned that another storm expected Wednesday could again make conditions difficult in the high mountains. That raised the risk of further delays for travelers and freight operators already backed up on the Argentine side.

Truck backlog could take days to clear

In Uspallata, a town about 90 kilometers, or 56 miles, from Puente del Inca, nearly 1,000 trucks were waiting for the route into Chile to reopen, AFP reported. The trucks were carrying cargo but could not continue while the road and crossing remained blocked.

Brazilian driver Fernando Roberto told AFP he had been waiting eight days. He said conditions were cold but that he was coping with the delay.

Even after officials reopen the crossing, the freight backlog is expected to move slowly. Mendoza’s deputy logistics minister Alberto Marengo told a press conference that clearing the waiting trucks would take five or six days.

Flights diverted as Bariloche airport closes

The storm also affected air travel in Argentina’s south. AFP reported that the airport in Bariloche, a tourist town in Rio Negro province, closed Monday because of the weather.

Hundreds of passengers bound for or departing Bariloche had flights redirected to nearby Neuquén province, according to AFP. The report did not give a timeline for the airport’s reopening.

This story draws on original reporting from Phys.org.