By Chesney Hearst, Senior Contributing Reporter
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Traffic flow changes are expected in the Rio areas of Centro (downtown), Zona Portuária (Port Zone) and possibly Zona Sul (South Zone) this week due to the closing and demolition of the Elevado da Perimetral and the opening of Via Binário do Porto.
The city of Rio suspended access to the Elevado da Perimetral, the overpass that runs above Rio’s Port Zone district – on Saturday, November 2nd at 7PM. Officials closed the overpass in preparation for the final stages of its complete demolition.
Shortly before that, Rio Mayor Eduardo Paes inaugurated the Via Binário do Porto. The alternate route from Centro to Zona Sul runs 3.5 km with a total of six lanes, three lanes in each direction.
“We will have disorders [in traffic],” Mayor Paes said during the Via Binário’s inauguration. “We do, once more, appeal to the population of the city of Rio and to those in the Metropolitan Region to understand this next week and to seek carpooling options and public transport.”
The road changes will also affect the routes of many city buses, most notably those that travel along the Venezuela, Rodrigues Alves, Rio de Janeiro and Terminal Américo Fontenelle lines. To learn more about the new bus routes see here (in Portuguese).
Demolition of the Elevado da Perimetral began shortly after the road was closed and is estimated to reach completion by November 17th.
The projects are two of many renovations and at times controversial construction jobs ongoing in the Port Zone and Downtown areas of the city.
“There is no doubt that we will live in a period of a year and a half, two years that will be very difficult,” Paes concluded after the Via Binário’s inauguration. “It’s the transformation of a degraded area of the city that is key. Rio is rediscovering its Centro [downtown].”
Read more (in Portuguese).
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