By Ségolène Poirier, Contributing Reporter
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The environmental license for the construction of the Metro Line 4 was approved on Friday by the directors of the State Environmental Control Commission (CECA), to build four new stations between Ipanema and Gávea. This clears the way for work to begin in the next two months, and should be completed by December 2015.
The lack of an environmental license was one of the obstacles faced by the state, which promised to complete the Metro Line 4 to reach Barra de Tijuca before the 2016 Olympics Games.
This specific license concerns the underground excavations for the extension of the subway line to create four new stations in Zona Sul (South Zone); Nossa Senhora da Paz, Jardim de Alah, Antero de Quental and Gávea.
The State Secretary of Environment, Carlos Minc, said that the license was granted unanimously. “The score was twelve to zero among councilors, […]. It means less exhaust, less noise, less roadkill, less CO2 emissions. We have to have more subways, trains, ferries and bike paths.”
One of the stipulations was the Gávea Station will be built on two levels and will provide a future connection to Carioca station in Centro. This would be along Line 1, and pass through Jardim Botânico, Humaitá, Botafogo and Laranjeiras.
The excavation for the four new Metro stations in Zona Sul will be simultaneous. This will allow the passage of “tatuzão”, a super-size underground drilling machine which is more than a hundred meters long and weighs about 2,000 tons.
The tatuzão use will avoid trenching on the surface and along the streets of the already congested roadways. The Metro tunnel excavations are planned to be made twelve meters under ground, minimizing impacts on the local residents’ lives.
Once complete Line 4 will carry an average of 300,000 passengers per day, according to the state, connecting Barra de Tijuca to Centro in just thirty minutes commute time.
Read more (in Portuguese).
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