Service order for the construction of a bridge that will connect RS to the Argentine city will be signed by Dnit

With an expected investment of BRL 221 million, the service order for the bridge that will connect Porto Xavier, in Rio Grande do Sul, to the city of San Javier, in Argentina, will be signed by the end of this week by the regional superintendence of the National Infrastructure Department of Transport (Dnit). This information was provided by the mayor of Porto Xavier, Gilberto Menin, who informed that work on the international bridge between Porto Xavier and San Javier should start between October and November of this year. Dnit confirms that the Service Commencement Order is expected to be signed by the end of this week and that the body is working on analyzing the documentation in order to authorize the start of services.

According to Menin, the investment in the structure on the Brazilian side by the federal government will be R$ 221 million. Extending more than a thousand meters, the bridge should be completed in three years (2026). The crossing of trucks and vehicles between the cities of Porto Xavier and San Javier is currently carried out by ferry.

According to Menin, the international bridge is extremely important for the state and Brazilian economy due to the importation of products from countries such as Chile, Argentina and Paraguay. “There are 15,000 trucks that pass through the region a year, through Santa Rosa and Santo Ângelo. We import onions and corn from Argentina. In addition, 7,000 pigs are slaughtered and exported to China and everything passes through Porto Xavier”, he highlights.

The crossing of the vehicles is done through a ferry that operates from Monday to Friday from 8 am to 5:30 pm. On Saturday, the opening hours of the transport are reduced and on Sunday the service is not carried out. The bridge that will be built over the Uruguay River will transform the economy of the region where more than 10,500 inhabitants live because there will be a greater stimulus for tourism. Argentines use the ferry service to reach the state, with the beaches on the coast of Rio Grande do Sul and Santa Catarina as their final destination.

The mayor informs that after the service order is signed, the environmental licensing process and compensation will begin on the Brazilian side – the city government estimates that 30 homes will be compensated, in addition to areas that do not have construction. According to Menin, the importance of the bridge for the missionary region can be measured in the increase of more than 30% both in grain exports and in tourism. “With the bridge, we are anticipating the construction of inns in the municipality mainly due to the fishing of the Dourado, which attracts a lot of people to the region”, he emphasizes.

The second service order signed by Dnit/RS will refer to the construction of the bridge over the Ibicuí River. The work will count on an investment by the federal government in the amount of R$ 118 million. The current iron bridge is 133 years old and the state of conservation has hampered cargo transport between Mercosur countries.

The mayor of Uruguaiana, Ronnie Mello, says that the construction of the bridge over the Ibicuí River is a great achievement for the community, not only for Uruguaiana and Itaqui, but for the country, which has in the entry and passage of goods through the region’s highways a very large contribution to the Brazilian economy.