Construction of the second bridge connecting Jaguarão to Rio Branco is a historic demand in the region

During his recent visit to Montevideo, the president of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, made a commitment to resume plans to build a new bridge linking the city of Jaguarão to Rio Branco, in Uruguay. According to Lula, this is an issue that interests both countries. This thesis has been defended for many years by leaders of that region.

The mayor of Jaguarão, Rogério Cruz (MDB), received the promise of the President of the Republic with optimism, noting that the existing bridge over the Jaguarão River is over 90 years old and its structures have suffered greatly from heavy traffic over the years. He points out that the demand for a new connection is imminent, as the flow of heavy loads has been increasing considerably, including the need to divert heavy traffic outside the city’s historic center. “We are believing that this dream will come true”, says Cruz.

The president of the Association of Municipalities of the South Zone (Azonasul) and mayor of Cerrito, Douglas Silveira (PP), recalls that the topic of the second bridge has been discussed for at least forty years. “This will improve the whole issue of imports and exports with Uruguay”, adds the leader. According to him, the initiative will serve to leverage the economy of the surrounding cities. The Azonasul representative emphasizes that the traffic on the bridge, which has the operation of an establishment of the Federal Revenue, is intense, much fueled by consumers who seek the local duty-free shops.

Silveira considers that, logistically, it would make sense for the second bridge to be built next to the first, but, he warns, care must be taken to preserve the historical heritage that represents the oldest structure. The president of Azonasul is confident that the project will get off the ground and recalls that the subject has already been dealt with in the first Lula administrations and was also present in the agenda of the administrations of Dilma Rousseff, Michel Temer and Jair Bolsonaro. During Bolsonaro’s tenure, the cost to implement the new structure was estimated at approximately R$150 million.

The current connection between Jaguarão and Rio Branco, the Barão de Mauá International Bridge, was built between 1927 and 1930, after a treaty signed in 1918 between Brazil and Uruguay for payment of war debt. It is the first binational property listed by the National Historical and Artistic Heritage Institute (Iphan), recognized as the first cultural heritage of Mercosur.

The bridge is 2,113 meters long, 340 meters over the river and 12 meters wide. In its central part there is a railway track with two gauges flanked by two lanes for vehicles of three meters each. The lanes have a sidewalk for pedestrians along the length. The implementation of the bridge involved the participation of more than 6,000 workers of different nationalities. The Uruguayan side of the bridge was listed in 1977, while the Brazilian side in 2011.