The Gazette | BR 262 should have a new route and include a tunnel and viaducts in ES

With the change, the current stretch, between Viana and Marechal Floriano, must be transferred from the federal government to the State, leaving it as a tourist route. The new road to be built between these two cities would be around 23 km long and is expected to include a tunnel and viaducts, similar to those on Rodovia dos Imigrantes, in São Paulo. The route is known for challenging engineering as it passes over high pillars and crosses the Serra do Mar mountain range.

The report of The Gazette has been following the negotiations on this new BR 262 project since the end of 2023, after the inauguration of Contorno do Mestre Álvaro. Romeu Scheibe Neto states that the studies have a deadline of three years to be completed, but it is not yet possible to say exactly when they will be completed.

“We have already carried out a validation study of the route and came to the conclusion that, from Marechal Floriano to the border with Minas Gerais, the duplication will take place on the same route as the existing highway, expanding capacity on the right and left sides. But, from Marechal Floriano onwards, it is making it possible for us to execute a new route of BR 262, avoiding that complicated region we currently have and shortening the highway”, he highlights.

According to the superintendent, this new route should shorten the highway by up to 4 km, reducing the time spent by drivers on the road. Asked about the route along which the new section should pass, Romeu stated that he cannot disclose it yet, so as not to encourage real estate speculation in the region.

“The study is being evaluated by our team of technicians in Brasília to validate the survey here at the superintendence”, he points out.

BR 262 was divided into five segments by Dnit. The first is the section of the new route, where work should begin as a priority.

“This segment will make up lot 1. There are many ‘works of art’, short bridges, but too high, more or less like the one on Rodovia dos Imigrantes, in São Paulo. We are still studying a tunnel, but that doesn’t mean there will be one,” he highlights.

To carry out the duplication, expropriations will be necessary. “100% of the section will have to be expropriated. We are going to buy the land to be able to build the highway”, highlights Romeu.

The superintendent states that the concession has not been ruled out, but the works may require financial commitment from the federal government. “We have never had a detailed engineering project at the level that is being done. On the occasions when BR 262 was put up for auction, it ‘went through the roof’, because the highway was going to be passed the way it was. Who will carry out the work is chapter two of this story. There is an expectation that Dnit will carry out the work, at least on lot 1, but the private sector is not ruled out”, he points out.

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