Rodoanel Mário Covas
Encyclopedia
Greater São Paulo
The Greater São Paulo is a nonspecific term for one of the multiple definitions the large metropolitan area located in the São Paulo state in Brazil.-Definitions:-Metropolitan Area:...
Beltway, around the largest megalopolis
Megacity
A megacity is usually defined as a metropolitan area with a total population in excess of 10 million people. Some definitions also set a minimum level for population density . A megacity can be a single metropolitan area or two or more metropolitan areas that converge. The terms conurbation,...
of Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
. Upon its completion, it will have a length of 172 km (106.9 mi), with a radius of approximately 23 km (14.3 mi) from the geographical center of the city. It was named after Mário Covas
Mário Covas
Mário Covas Júnior was a Brazilian politician.Covas studied engineering at the Polytechnic School of the University of São Paulo. He entered politics in his native city of Santos, in the state of São Paulo....
, who was mayor of the city of São Paulo
São Paulo
São Paulo is the largest city in Brazil, the largest city in the southern hemisphere and South America, and the world's seventh largest city by population. The metropolis is anchor to the São Paulo metropolitan area, ranked as the second-most populous metropolitan area in the Americas and among...
(1983–1985) and a state
São Paulo (state)
São Paulo is a state in Brazil. It is the major industrial and economic powerhouse of the Brazilian economy. Named after Saint Paul, São Paulo has the largest population, industrial complex, and economic production in the country. It is the richest state in Brazil...
governor
Governor
A governor is a governing official, usually the executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state...
(1994-1998/1998-2001) until his death from cancer. It is a controlled access highway with a speed limit
Speed limit
Road speed limits are used in most countries to regulate the speed of road vehicles. Speed limits may define maximum , minimum or no speed limit and are normally indicated using a traffic sign...
of 100 km/h (62.1 mph) under normal weather and traffic circumstances.
History
The first section was inaugurated in October 2002, starting at the Estrada Velha de Campinas (lit. Old Road of Campinas), in the northern part of São Paulo, and ending at the Régis Bittencourt highway, in Embu, covering 32 km (19.9 mi). It crosses AnhangüeraRodovia Anhangüera
Rodovia Anhangüera is a highway in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. It is one of the country's busiest transportation corridors...
, Bandeirantes
Rodovia dos Bandeirantes
Rodovia Bandeirantes is a highway in the state of São Paulo, Brazil.Once the traffic capacity of Anhangüera Highway was exceeded in the 1960s, the state government decided to built another highway, with a much higher capacity and modern design, directly connecting São Paulo City to Jundiaí,...
, Castelo Branco
Rodovia Castelo Branco
Rodovia Presidente Castelo Branco is a tollway in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. It was first opened on November 10, 1968, by, then, the Governor of the state of São Paulo, Abreu Sodré...
, and Raposo Tavares
Rodovia Raposo Tavares
Rodovia Raposo Tavares is the longest highway in the state of São Paulo, Brazil, with 664 km.The highway starts in the city of São Paulo and continues westward, serving the main cities of Cotia, Vargem Grande Paulista, São Roque, Sorocaba, Itapetininga, Angatuba, Ourinhos, Assis, Presidente...
highways. There are urban accesses to the cities of Osasco
Osasco
Osasco is a municipality and city in São Paulo State, Brazil, is located in the Greater São Paulo and ranking 5th in population among São Paulo municipalities. The current mayor is Emidio Pereira de Souza ....
and Carapicuíba, but it also crosses through the municipalities of Barueri
Barueri
Barueri is a Brazilian city in the state of São Paulo located in the northwestern part of the Greater São Paulo metropolitan area. The population in 2006 is estimated to be 265,549, the population density is 4,149.2 per km² and the area of 64 km²....
, Santana de Parnaíba
Santana de Parnaíba
Santana de Parnaíba is a city and municipality in the state of São Paulo in Brazil. The population in 2003 was 86,247 and the area is 184 km². It was founded in 1625 near the Tietê river....
, Embu, Cotia
Cotia
Cotia is a city in the state of São Paulo in Brazil. The population in 2006 was 179,685. The city is at an altitude of 853 m, its density is 554.77/km² and the area is 324 km². Cotia is linked with the Rodovia Raposo Tavares highway.- History :...
, and São Paulo
São Paulo
São Paulo is the largest city in Brazil, the largest city in the southern hemisphere and South America, and the world's seventh largest city by population. The metropolis is anchor to the São Paulo metropolitan area, ranked as the second-most populous metropolitan area in the Americas and among...
. The current segment has three tunnel
Tunnel
A tunnel is an underground passageway, completely enclosed except for openings for egress, commonly at each end.A tunnel may be for foot or vehicular road traffic, for rail traffic, or for a canal. Some tunnels are aqueducts to supply water for consumption or for hydroelectric stations or are sewers...
s, one of them being the largest and widest one in Brazil, with 1.6 km (0.994196378639691 mi), 62 viaduct
Viaduct
A viaduct is a bridge composed of several small spans. The term viaduct is derived from the Latin via for road and ducere to lead something. However, the Ancient Romans did not use that term per se; it is a modern derivation from an analogy with aqueduct. Like the Roman aqueducts, many early...
s and six bridge
Bridge
A bridge is a structure built to span physical obstacles such as a body of water, valley, or road, for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle...
s.
On September 15, 2006, the State Government announced the start of the construction of the South Segment, which would serve as a corridor for more than 250,000 trucks per month which must go through the city of São Paulo in order to interconnect to or from the city port of Santos
Santos (São Paulo)
-Sister cities: Shimonoseki, Japan Nagasaki, Japan Funchal, Portugal Trieste, Italy Coimbra, Portugal Ansião, Portugal Arouca, Portugal Ushuaia, Argentina Havana, Cuba Taizhou. China Ningbo. China Constanţa, Romania Ulsan, South Korea Colón, Panama* Cadiz, Spain...
. During the construction, a major accident happened when three recently installed ledges fell on the Régis Bittencourt highway, hitting three cars and injuring three people. The construction was expected to take almost five years, mainly due to the complex urban zones and difficult terrain it will cross (including a series of artificial lake
Lake
A lake is a body of relatively still fresh or salt water of considerable size, localized in a basin, that is surrounded by land. Lakes are inland and not part of the ocean and therefore are distinct from lagoons, and are larger and deeper than ponds. Lakes can be contrasted with rivers or streams,...
s and dam
Dam
A dam is a barrier that impounds water or underground streams. Dams generally serve the primary purpose of retaining water, while other structures such as floodgates or levees are used to manage or prevent water flow into specific land regions. Hydropower and pumped-storage hydroelectricity are...
s and a mountainous region), but it ended up being inaugurated in April 2010, although some sections were missing guard rails and proper traffic signs.
Upon its completion, estimated for 2018, it will also interconnect the Presidente Dutra
Rodovia Presidente Dutra
The Rodovia Presidente Dutra, , colloquially known as Via Dutra is a federal highway which runs through the eastern part of the state of São Paulo and southwestern region of the state Rio de Janeiro...
, Fernão Dias
Rodovia Fernão Dias
The Rodovia Fernão Dias is a federal highway which runs in the Brazilian states of São Paulo and southern region of Minas Gerais...
, and Ayrton Senna
Rodovia Ayrton Senna
Rodovia Ayrton Senna da Silva , is a highway in the state of São Paulo, Brazil....
(East Segment) main highways, besides many other smaller ones, thus completely surrounding a large area and constituting by far the mightiest road transportation hub in Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
.
Importance
The São Paulo Beltway is considered a major strategic investment for the efficiency of road transportation in the economically most important region of the country. São Paulo is a megacityMegacity
A megacity is usually defined as a metropolitan area with a total population in excess of 10 million people. Some definitions also set a minimum level for population density . A megacity can be a single metropolitan area or two or more metropolitan areas that converge. The terms conurbation,...
, with a population in excess of 20 million inhabitants, and more than 6 million vehicles. Most of the cargo transported by road or other modalities back and forth from the port of Santos today pass through the city of São Paulo generating incredible traffic jams at all hours of the day, with a loss of more than 1.7 billion hours per year (more than 25 million trips a day). Although the city already has an inner beltway (called the Marginals, see Marginal Pinheiros
Marginal Pinheiros
Marginal Pinheiros is a section of this highway that runs through the city of São Paulo, Brazil. The name of this section comes from the fact that each way of the expressway runs near a different waterfront of the Pinheiros River...
and Marginal Tietê
Marginal Tietê
Marginal Tietê is a section of this highway that runs through the city of São Paulo, Brazil. The name of this section comes from the fact that each way of the expressway runs near a different waterfront of the Tietê River...
), it is over 30 years old and its capacity is completely saturated since (up until the construction of the Rodoanel) it is the only connection between the major highways around the city of São Paulo.
It has been estimated already that more than 30% of the Marginal's traffic was relieved as a consequence.
A recent study, however, has shown that the impact of the Rodoanel in the traffic of São Paulo will be irrelevant, since the number of new cars sold in the city breaks records successively and will quickly compensate the absence of trucks trafficking in the city.
The importance of the Beltway is underlined by population approval, with June 2004 showing 85% approval rates, 86% of users deeming it a very important resource, and 80% of positive aspects. More than 300,000 vehicles (78% of them automobiles) use the Beltway every day. The system has an estimated peak capacity of 700,000 vehicles per day.
Management
The Western section, completed in 2002, is a toll roadToll road
A toll road is a privately or publicly built road for which a driver pays a toll for use. Structures for which tolls are charged include toll bridges and toll tunnels. Non-toll roads are financed using other sources of revenue, most typically fuel tax or general tax funds...
managed by a private group called CCR
CCR
-Music:* Creedence Clearwater Revival, a swamp rock band** Creedence Clearwater Revival , a 1968 debut album by Creedence Clearwater Revival** Creedence Clearwater Revisited, a rock band formed by former Creedence Clearwater Revival members...
. The newly opened Southern section (2010) is managed by SEMPER, who won the public tender to manage, collect tolls and also to build and collect tolls on the future Eastern section.