Baixada Santista [Santos Metropolitan Area]: government opens tender for bridge recovery works for VLT

Expansion and reinforcement of the structure, duplication of the railway part, expansion of the sidewalk section and improvements to the road infrastructure will be carried out.

Last Saturday, 21 January, the government of São Paulo published the notice of bidding for the selection of the company that will carry out works for the recovery, reinforcement and expansion of Ponte A Tribuna, formerly Ponte dos Barreiros, which connects the insular area to the continental region of city of São Vicente, in Baixada Santista. The bridge has a structure of 650m in length and will receive investments of BRL 505 million.

This work has been eagerly awaited by the city’s residents, as it marks the beginning of the implementation of phase 3 of the Baixada Santista VLT, connecting the Barreiros Terminal to Samaritá. The project will benefit approximately 150,000 people who live in ten neighborhoods in the continental area and depend on public transport to move to other regions.

The public session for the presentation of proposals is scheduled to take place on 14 March, at 10:30 am, at the headquarters of EMTU – Empresa Metropolitana de Transportes Urbanos de São Paulo, located at Rua Joaquim Casemiro, 290, bairro Planalto, in São Bernardo do Campo.

Details of the construction works

According to EMTU, the bridge renovation project provides for the expansion and reinforcement of the structure, duplication of the railway part that is currently inoperative, expansion of the pedestrian section and improvements to the road infrastructure.

The forecast is that the work will be concluded in 24 months, from the start order. The services will be divided into ten stages, including structural reinforcements, execution of the metallic structure, removal of the current pavement, survey of the road bridge structure, new paving, concreting, drainage and public lighting.

After the renovation and expansion of this bridge is completed, other interventions are planned for the extension of the VLT in the city, with the connection from Barreiros Terminal to the Samaritá neighborhood. When fully completed, the VLT will have a total length of 27 km, considering the 11.5 km already in operation (Barreiros – Porto Station), 8 km of the second section – between Av. Conselheiro Nébias and Valongo Station (under construction), and the 7.5 km connection between Barreiros and Samaritá. 

By: Santelmo Camilo