Seventeen years after the enactment of Law No. 3,877/2009, which prohibits irregular speed reducers (known as "lomadas") on national and departmental highways in Paraguay, compliance with the regulation remains critical. In the department of Paraguarí, only one irregular structure was removed during this period, specifically at the access point between Paraguarí and Pirayú, in 2024.
The legislation establishes that the Ministry of Public Works and Communications (MOPC) is responsible for eliminating these obstacles, with an initial deadline of 60 days following the law's sanction in October 2009. The norm provides exceptions only for areas near educational centers and hospitals. Despite this, drivers and transporters report that roads continue to be obstructed by non-regulatory structures, causing traffic slowdowns, mechanical wear on vehicles, and safety risks.
Institutional efforts to resolve the issue have been intermittent. In May 2023, then-MOPC Minister Rodolfo Segovia signed an agreement with Attorney General Emiliano Rolón to work on removing irregular speed bumps. A year later, on June 7, 2024, Rolón again pressured current MOPC Minister Claudia Centurión, requesting the clearing of roads and the adoption of modern speed control mechanisms.
In July of this year, the Paraguayan Chamber of Deputies requested reports from the MOPC regarding compliance with the law. The ministry's Road Safety Department reported that, since December 2023, 37 speed bumps had been removed in six departments: San Pedro, Concepción, Canindeyú, Paraguarí, Misiones, Itapúa, and Alto Paraná. The interventions took place on strategic national highways, such as PY01, PY03, PY05, PY06, PY08, and PY11, as well as departmental sections like D005 and D023.
On highways under private concession, such as routes PY01 and PY02, the MOPC conducts technical surveys and forwards cases to the consortiums responsible for maintenance so they can proceed with removal. The disparity between the total number of removals reported by the government and the specific situation in Paraguarí illustrates the historical difficulty of oversight and enforcement of this public policy in the country.