The neighborhood of Madureira, a traditional stronghold of the samba in Rio de Janeiro, will, over the next three years, listen to a sound which is very different from that of the pandeiro and the tambourine. This Thursday morning (March 17th), the noise of the jackhammers and excavators announced the start of the work on the first phase of the BRT Transcarioca, an express corridor exclusively for articulated buses, which will connect the neighborhood of Barra da Tijuca, in the West Zone of the city, to the Tom Jobim International Airport (Galeão), on Governor’s Island, in Rio de Janeiro.
The work on the first phase of the BRT, with a total length of 28 km, marks the start of the second of the four major road structure works that Rio de Janeiro City Hall is preparing, getting ready to host the 2014 FIFA World Cup™ and the 2016 Summer Olympic Games.
The other projects are the Transoeste Corridor between Barra da Tijuca, Santa Cruz and Campo Grande (already under construction). The Transbrasil corridor which will follow the route of Avenida Brasil, which is one of the main traffic arteries of the city (a project for which no date has as yet been set) and the Transolímpica (between Recreio dos Bandeirantes and Deodoro) which will be the subject of a tender in the first half of the year. According to the Mayor of Rio de Janeiro, Eduardo Paes, the work will start before the end of the year.
Considered the most important of the City Hall’s projects, as it will change the logic behind the travels of people in the outskirts of the city, the T5 corridor, as the Transcarioca is also known, will transport some 400 thousand people per day. According to the expectations of the City Hall, the travelling time between Barra da Tijuca and Governor’s Island, going through several neighborhoods in the North Zone, will be shorn by more than 60%.
The Transcarioca will also be the first high-capacity transport corridor to cross the city. In addition, this will allow the physical and fare integration with other means of transport such as the Underground and commuter trains, and also with cycle paths along the way.
The route of this project has also been extended. The initial idea was to have the BRT going as far as Penha, with a total length of 28 km.
Delay
However, the Transcarioca is starting almost one year behind the original schedule (April 2010). According to the Municipal Secretary for Transport, Alexandre Pinto, the postponement was due to the financing contract from the National Bank of Economic and Social Development (BNDES), as the tender could only be held after the contract with the bank was finalized. According to Mr. Paes, the compulsory purchases started last year.
Also according to Mr. Paes, a total of R$ 500 million will be spent on compulsory purchases, which will include three thousand houses. In his opinion, the City Hall “pays a sufficient and fair price” to the residents.
The Transcarioca Project will have a total investment of R$ 1.3 billion. The construction of the two lots into which the project has been divided is expected to end within three years. The winning consortium that will proceed with the work on the second stretch (from Penha to the Airport), according to Mr. Pinto, will be known in between 30 and 40 days.
highlights
04/05 | News
