Director of Dnit says he is awaiting environmental licensing to start works on BR-319

The director of Planning and Research at the National Department of Transport Infrastructure (Dnit), Luiz Guilherme de Mello, informed that the municipality is committed to improvement projects for BR-319 (Manaus-Porto Velho), but is awaiting environmental licensing of the competent bodies to begin the works that, in addition to paving the Middle Section – between kilometers 250 and 655.

The information was given last Wednesday (24/04), in a public hearing at the Economic Development Committee of the Chamber of Deputies to debate the economic impacts of the BR-319 works, on the importance of promoting improvements on the highway to the economy and mobility in the states of the Northern Region of the country.

The director also said he will replace all wooden bridges with concrete structures and install several wildlife crossings, to minimize the risk of wild animals being run over.

“We have already obtained the preliminary environmental license. This means that, environmentally, the enterprise is viable. We are now carrying out additional studies so that Ibama can give us the installation license so that we can begin the works. DNIT is making all necessary efforts to pave BR-319 / AM,” he said.

The importance of the action is indisputable, says the director, not only to improve the connection between the capitals of Amazonas and Roraima, but also to preserve the local vegetation, which suffers from the routine maintenance of the road, necessary to keep it passable, even during the rainy season. It is important to highlight that, thanks to the work carried out by DNIT, in the last 12 months, there have been no closures on the highway.

Asked about the reconstruction works on the bridges over the Autaz-Mirim and Curuçá rivers, located between the municipality of Castanho and the port of the city of Careiro da Várzea, which collapsed at the end of 2022, Mello informed that DNIT teams were at the beginning of the month inspecting the works, which took place more quickly in the last few days. “We are doing everything with the necessary caution to prevent other accidents from happening,” he said.

Also participating in the hearing were Paloma Campos do Nascimento, general coordinator of Environmental Licensing and Territorial Affairs at the Ministry of Transport; Igor Bahia Costa, general coordinator of Regional Development at Suframa; Lúcio Flávio Morais de Oliveira, president of the Amazonas State Industry Center (CIEAM); Philip Fearnside, scientist at the National Amazon Research Institute (Inpa/MCTI); Marcos Antonio Bento, president of Abraciclo; and federal deputies Sidney Leite (PSD-AM), Cristiane Lopes (União-RO) and Coronel Chrisóstomo (PL-RO).

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