By Michela DellaMonica, Contributing Reporter
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL — With many people heading out of town this weekend for the extended Easter holiday, the city of Rio will continue to work on its renovation of the Port Zone area of Centro with more demolition of the Perimetral elevated highway. Along with the effort, Rio will see another phase of road closures and detours rolled out next week that residents will need to adapt to.
Sections of the Avenida Brasil will be closed off from 10PM Easter Sunday to 10AM Wednesday for the installation of the Arch Viaduct Mayor Pedro Ernesto, which makes part of the BRT Transcarioca. Avenida Rodrigues Alves will be closed until Thursday morning (April 24th).
The stretch the Perimetral highway expected to be demolished is three hundred meters near Praça Mauá and will be imploded at 7AM Easter Sunday.
After the explosion, clean up crews from city hall and the Porto Novo organization, who is responsible for the execution of the Porto Maravilha project, will clean up debris from the area and ultimately begin traffic flow on the Avenida Rodrigues Alves.
The debris removal efforts will last four days and it is expected that the Rodrigues Alves Avenue will reopen 5AM Thursday, April 24th. Rio mayor Eduardo Paes said the explosion decision was the best option in order to accelerate the transformation of the Port project. “It would take four months otherwise. We think it is easier, faster and more practical,” Paes explains.
According to Transportation Secretary Alexander Samson, seventy bus lines crossing Avenida Brasil have already changed itineraries. Some lines will use the same detours cars will use. Others will use Linha Vermelha (Red Line) where tractor trailer trucks are required.
Samson said that one of the concerns with the increase in traffic around the holiday weekend is when people are intending to come back home. “For those heading back home on Monday, there won’t be any problems because they are avoiding peak hours for expected returns which the high volume will be on Wednesday.”
Read more (in Portuguese).
* The Rio Times Daily Update feature is offered to help keep you up-to-date with major news as it happens.