Rio Negro takes charge of Routes 22 and 151

Decree 805/26 approves the agreement Rio Negro signed on Aug 24, 2026 with the National Roads Directorate. The national government "entrusts" the Rio Negro Roads Directorate with "integral management - directly or through third parties - and the performance of construction works, conservation, improvement, integral maintenance, user services and operational control" over the Rio Negro sections of National Routes 22 and 151. Four points the act makes and the public announcement did not: (1) there is no transfer of ownership - the routes "shall continue to be federal property and under federal jurisdiction", and what is delegated are operational powers of a "functional, limited, temporary and revocable" nature; (2) the province pays: "the Province of Rio Negro, through the Rio Negro Roads Directorate, shall provide the funding for the works, conservation, maintenance, road safety and other activities covered, in accordance with budget availability"; (3) the handover is neither immediate nor complete - section 4 states that approval "does not, in itself, imply effective transfer", which occurs section by section through specific agreements and Handover Deeds; (4) section 5 expressly leaves open "the eventual implementation of a toll-based public works concession regime" over those roads, framed by National Decree 253/2026 and National Law 17,520. The agreement also goes to the provincial Legislature for ratification (section 2). The specific mileposts, sections, junctions and access points are not in the decree: they remain "subject to technical corroboration" in annexes the Gazette publishes as images. verif · Aug 26, 2026 ↗

The decree is in force from its publication (Aug 31, 2026), but management of each section begins when its specific agreement and Handover Deed are signed: as of Sep 2, 2026 none has been published. Ratification by the provincial Legislature is also still pending. verif · Aug 31, 2026 ↗

Anyone selling road works, conservation and highway maintenance: the buyer of that work on Routes 22 and 151 becomes the Rio Negro Roads Directorate rather than National Roads, and the agreement expressly allows the province to do it "directly or through third parties". It also affects freight carriers using Route 22, the road that takes Vaca Muerta output toward the Alto Valle and the port, because it opens the door to a toll that does not exist today. verif · Aug 31, 2026 ↗