The inhabitants of Bogotá, and especially those who live or travel through the south of the capital, should prepare their routes in advance due to the traffic changes that will be caused by the commemoration of the 216th anniversary of Colombia’s Independence.
On this occasion, the traditional military and police parade will be moved to the locality of Ciudad Bolívar, focusing on Ciudad de Villavicencio Avenue, in the section between El Ensueño Shopping Center (transversal 70C) and Casa Linda neighborhood (carrera 22G).
The District Mobility Secretariat confirmed that the event logistics require not only securing the march area but also enabling the necessary spaces for troop formation, as well as the boarding and disembarking of contingents. For this reason, a scheme of road closures and operational detours that will begin to be applied gradually during the night rehearsals and will be fully executed on the holiday Monday, July 20, 2026, was structured.
Schedules and points of road restrictions in the south of the city
Vehicle traffic restrictions will be divided into two key moments. The first corresponds to the technical preparation sessions, which will take place from 9:00 p.m. on Saturday, July 18 until 3:00 a.m. on Sunday, July 19. The second moment will cover the official parade day on holiday Monday, July 20, with total restrictions from midnight until 4:00 p.m.
The capital’s traffic authorities detailed that the specific points where vehicle circulation will be restricted during the mentioned hours are the following:
- Villavicencio Avenue between the South Highway and Boyacá Avenue, restriction that will apply simultaneously in both traffic directions.
- Gaitán Cortés Avenue between Boyacá Avenue and 68F South Street, also affecting both directions of traffic.
- The slow lane of Boyacá Avenue north to south direction, in the section from diagonal 52 south to carrera 24.
To mitigate the impact, the on-site personnel of the District Mobility Secretariat will maintain controlled access for residents of the Protecho, Casa Linda, Chircal Sur, Arborizadora Baja, and La Coruña sectors. As general mobility alternatives for those who need to move through the Ciudad Bolívar locality, it was suggested to use the South Highway and the enabled sections of Boyacá Avenue.
Suspension of TransMilenio routes due to the July 20 parade
The patriotic parade will also require modifying the mass transit dynamics in the area. The TransMilenio company reported that a group of feeder and zonal services will temporarily stop operating during the established hours for the event.
According to institutional information collected by the official channel Bogotá, mi Ciudad, mi Casa, the routes that will suspend their usual service are:
- The route TransMiZonal H604 Santo Domingo.
- The route TransMiZonal H625 Potosí.
- The feeder route of Portal El Tunal 6-3 Sierra Morena.
- The feeder route of Portal El Tunal 6-1C Casa Linda.
- The feeder route of Portal El Tunal 6-1 Candelaria.
Additionally, a total of 34 TransMiZonal routes that make their usual rounds through these southern city sectors will implement operational detours. To continue their routes, public transport vehicles will take alternative roads such as diagonal 62 south, 64 south street, diagonal 70 south, carreras 72 and 73, as well as the main corridors of Boyacá Avenue and the South Highway. Authorities recommended users plan their trips in advance and check the system’s information platforms.
How access to residential neighborhoods and the return plan will work
The District designed a traffic management plan to ensure that families living near Villavicencio Avenue can enter and leave their homes. For residents of the Arborizadora Alta and La Coruña neighborhoods, a technical counterflow of one kilometer in length will be arranged on the south lane of Gaitán Cortés Avenue, specifically between Boyacá Avenue and 58A South Street.
For the communities of the Protecho, Casalinda, and Chircal Sur neighborhoods, vehicle flows will be channeled through the intersection of carrera 22 with Villavicencio Avenue. Meanwhile, those needing to connect with the Lucero Bajo sector must use the enabled crossings at transversals 20D and 20F at their intersections with Villavicencio Avenue.
It is important to note that the Independence activities coincide with the Holiday Return Plan. The regional peak and plate restriction will be in effect on the nine access corridors to Bogotá between 12:00 noon and 8:00 p.m. From 12:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., entry will be allowed only for vehicles with even-numbered plates (0, 2, 4, 6, and 8), while in the 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. block, the turn will be exclusively for vehicles with odd-numbered plates (1, 3, 5, 7, and 9).
*This content was written with the assistance of artificial intelligence, based on publicly disclosed information to the media. It was also reviewed by a journalist and an editor.
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