Linha Vermelha : a limited solution to the complex problem of the transport system in Rio de Janeiro.

This article analyses the costs of constructing a toll motorway on the Northern Access route into Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, and forecasts its effect upon the local transport infrastructure, and the local population and the environment. Details of current access routes and major traffic flows into the city are provided first, indicating why the new 20.8 km Linha Vermelha motorway is needed. The responsibility for financing the work lies with the Concessionaire. However the government guarantees the full loan, and so there is little risk to the Concessionaire, and this ties up scarce government resources. The National Department of Roads (NDR) and the Ministry of Transport initially offered to pay a lump sum equivalent to the receipt for tolls charged to 50,000 vehicles per day for a period of 20 years. The costs of building the motorway are estimated at being US $185 million and construction would take 24 months. The toll required to make the investment possible has been put at between US $1 or $2, a fee far above what most people can afford to pay. Four access points to the motorway are planned: Avenue Brazil, University Campus, Island of Governador, and the interchange with the BR040 and BR116. Responsibility for compulsory service of the public services on the construction sites for the motorway is divided between the NDR and the concessionaire. The advantages of the motorway are that it would decrease congestion, reduce fuel consumption by about 50% and provide 12000 jobs during construction. However, it would also seriously disrupt the local road infrastructure, causing more cost to put right, and would be an ecological disaster for the Bay of Guanabara. The motorway would also generate traffic in other already congested areas. The funding arrangement is such that it would spend much of the money available for improving transport facilities elsewhere. Alternative solutions, undertaken either instead of or as well as the motorway include extending the metro, providing priority bus routes, introducing better co-ordination between the various public transport modes, and repairing the dilapidated Avenue Brazil.