Rio de Janeiro has included a tunnel in a proposed new urban development plan aimed at revitalising the city.
Rio City Hall says the redevelopment would be “along the lines of the Porto Maravilha project”, a large-scale regeneration of Rio de Janeiro’s old port area. It would include major renovations to the Sambadrome, the purpose-built parade area for the Rio Carnival, and demolition of the Elevado 31 de Março highway from the entrance to Santo Cristo to the Santa Bárbara tunnel.
The demolition of the viaduct would free up a 700,000m2 area to modernise the Sambadrome region.
The proposed tunnel would be built under a railway line.
Rio mayor Eduardo Paes said it was time to “think big”.
“Let’s tear down the viaduct again, let’s bring back the BRICS, the Pan American Games and if the G20 wants it, we can put it here again. Let’s make Rio de Janeiro the centre of the world again. That’s what we can do. This city is incredible, it is desired, it continues to be desired, and we need to do our part, which has to do with reality, with execution, with work,” he said.
