Rio Negro Bridge

Rio Negro Bridge
Rio Negro Bridge, 2019.
Coordinates3°7′19″S 60°04′46″W / 3.12194°S 60.07944°W / -3.12194; -60.07944
Carries4 lanes of roadway
CrossesRio Negro
LocaleManaus and Iranduba, Amazonas, Brazil
Official nameJournalist Phelippe Daou Bridge
Characteristics
DesignCable-stayed bridge
Total length3,595 metres (11,795 ft)
Height185 metres (607 ft)[1]
Longest span2x200 metres (660 ft)
Clearance above55 metres (180 ft)[1]
History
Construction startDecember 3, 2007
OpenedOctober 24, 2011
Location
Map

The Journalist Phelippe Daou Bridge (Portuguese: Ponte Rio Negro) is the fourth longest bridge[2] in Brazil at 3,595 metres (11,795 ft) long, with a cable-stayed bridge section of 400 metres (1,300 ft),[2] over the Rio Negro that links the city of Manaus with the small town of Iranduba in the state of Amazonas in Brazil.[3] It spans the Rio Negro just before its confluence with the Amazon River, and is the only major bridge across the Amazon or any tributary in the Amazon basin.[3] Its construction was marked by controversy over the potential effects of roadbuilding in the Amazon basin, which could lead to deforestation.[4] A 2018 study found that the construction of this bridge did induce deforestation.[5]

A quintessential Bridge to nowhere, it does not connect to the south side of the Amazon River and the rest of Brazil. Its construction has raised the possibility of expansion and reconstruction of the federal highway BR-319, which links the region to Porto Velho, Rondônia, and thus to the rest of Brazil.[4] That road is on the south side of the Amazon, and so any vehicle from Manaus would still have to make a ferry connection across the main stem of the Amazon, despite the completion of the Rio Negro bridge.

  1. ^ a b "Governo do Amazonas inaugura ponte Rio Negro, um marco para a integração da Região Metropolitana de Manaus". Governo do Estado do Amazonas. Retrieved 2019-10-30.
  2. ^ a b "Rio Negro Bridge, $400-Million Economic Link, Opens in Amazon Basin". www.enr.com. Retrieved 2021-12-07.
  3. ^ a b "First Amazon bridge to open world's greatest rainforest to development". The Guardian. 2010-08-05. Retrieved 2019-10-30.
  4. ^ a b "Rio Negro Bridge, $400-Million Economic Link, Opens in Amazon Basin". www.enr.com. Retrieved 2021-01-31.
  5. ^ Ramos, Camila Julia Pacheco; de Alencastro Graça, Paulo Maurício Lima; Fearnside, Philip Martin (2018-12-01). "Deforestation Dynamics on an Amazonian Peri-Urban Frontier: Simulating the Influence of the Rio Negro Bridge in Manaus, Brazil". Environmental Management. 62 (6): 1134–1149. doi:10.1007/s00267-018-1097-3. ISSN 1432-1009. PMID 30171329. S2CID 52141121.