BH wants to inaugurate two BRTs before the Confederations Cup

Out of the Belo Horizonte road works, the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), is the great bet of the government and city hall for the 2014 World Cup. 

According to the Minas Gerais Works and Infrastructure Secretariat, the two corridors that cross the city from North to South (avenues Antônio Carlos and Cristiano Machado), may carry up to 750 thousand passengers a day. 

The forecast is that the works are ready in May 2013, one month from the beginning of the Confederations Cup. The test-event will have the Minas Gerais capital among its host cities, in addition to Brasília, Fortaleza and Rio de Janeiro.

Studies from BHTrans (company responsible for managing the city’s traffic), state that the travel time is reduced in 57% with the new corridors. Another advantage is the possibility to reduce the bus fleet in up to 40%.

The BHTrans CEO, Ramon Victor César, says that the BRT will be essential to help in the solution of the public transportation problem in the Minas Gerais capital. “The BRT implementation will contribute for the improvement of the mobility in Belo Horizonte. We believe that this will be one of the most modern transportation systems of the country, providing more comfort and quality to the user.” 

Corridors
The enlargement of the Antônio Carlos lane started in last September. The intervention is necessary in order to install new stations along the section that goes from rua Adalberto Ferraz, in Lagoinha (Center-South region) up to São Francisco bridge (Northeast). 

From the part that comprises the Aparecida district (Northeast) and Avenida José Dias Bicalho (Pampulha, North region), the replacement of the asphaltic floor for concrete is in progress.

The intersection that connects avenues Antônio Carlos and Abrahão Caram, partially inaugurated in November, was released by the authorities. This, by the way, is one of the most important works for access to the Mineirão Stadium.

One of the roads that is also being remodeled is the overpass of avenida Oiapoque (Center-South), that connects downtown to avenida Antônio Carlos. In addition to the structural remodeling,  the enlargement of 1.40m is also foreseen.

Works
In the BRT Cristiano Machado, the road enlargement works continue. As the section already had a bus corridor, the modernization, such as the installation of the stations, does not demand a structural effort as is the case at Antônio Carlos. The works already got to avenida Vilarinho (Venda Nova, North Region), with the structural readjustment. 

In addition to the BRT systems, another five mobility works will be performed until 2014. Out of them, two have not started yet: the Central Area BRT and the Avenida Pedro II Corridor, both with forecast to start in March of this year.   

Altogether, the BH road works to the World Cup will cost R$ 1.5 billion, divided among the city, state and federal governments. Out of this amount, R$ 1.23 billion will come from the Urban Mobility PAC financing, with resources from the FGTS (Employee Severance Fund).