part of its route. south of Perito Moreno is the junction with a side road to Cueva de las Manos, and farther is the tiny settlement of Bajo Caracoles (population 100). After a further , there is a junction with the road to Perito Moreno National Park, but there is no habitation apart from a police station and later an estancia until the small town of Tres Lagos, some further south. From Tres Lagos, the road is paved to a junction east of El Calafate and another junction at El Cerrito, where RN40 leaves the main highway to Rio Gallegos. The route then takes a roundabout route to Rio Gallegos through the town of 28 de Noviembre, where it turns east to follow the valley of the Gallegos River. It reaches the Atlantic coast at Punta Loyola, at the mouth of the Gallegos River from Rio Gallegos. History Since the beginning of its construction in 1935, the route has changed several times. On 24 November 2004, the Argentine national directorate of highways (Dirección Nacional de Vialidad) promulgated Resolution 1.748/04, which changed the milestone markings and placed the "zero" kilometer stone at the new southernmost extreme of the road, at Cabo Virgenes, near the Straits of Magellan. Because in January 2009 there was no roadway constructed between the new marker location at Cabo Virgenes and Punta Loyola (near Río Gallegos), the provisional driving starting point as of early 2009 was at the KM 100 location. Before 2004, RN40 was divided into "Ruta 40 Sur" (south) and "Ruta 40 Norte" (north) with the earlier "traditional" zero-km starting point at the intersection of San Martín and Garibaldi streets in the city of Mendoza, in Mendoza Province. That zero-km marker was subsequently moved to the eastern access point of that city, at the intersection of RN7 and Gob Avenue. Ricardo Videla (also known as Avenida Costanera). The intent of new legislation and remarking of roadways will move the traditional northern terminus of RN40 to the frontier with Bolivia near the location of Ciénaga de Paicone. Latest developments On 20 May 2006, the Argentine national highway directorate and the Jujuy provincial highway department signed an agreement in which sections of Jujuy provincial highways 85, 70, 74, 7, 64, 65, and 5 were transferred to national control for the construction of the so-called "Mining Corridor", which will become the new path of RN40, more toward the