Puente Internacional Bella Unión - Barra do Quaraí, International road bridge at Brazil-Uruguay border

The Puente Internacional Bella Unión - Barra do Quaraí is a concrete bridge that spans 670 meters across the Quarai River, connecting Bella Union in Uruguay with Barra do Quarai in Brazil. It is a modern road structure with a wide driving surface that carries traffic directly between the two countries.

The concrete road bridge was inaugurated in 1976 at kilometre 636 of Route 3, linking Bella Unión with Barra do Quaraí and joining Brazil's road network via the BR 472. It was not the first permanent link: a railway bridge beside it opened on 3 June 1915 and carried freight and passengers between Barra do Quaraí, Uruguaiana, Bella Unión and Salto until it fell out of use in the final decades of the 20th century.

The crossing lies on the Mercosur corridor, and the sources note a proposed Bella Unión–Monte Caseros bridge to Argentina that could shift traffic here. The parallel railway bridge, opened on 3 June 1915, carried freight and passengers between Barra do Quaraí, Uruguaiana, Bella Unión and Salto until it fell out of use in the final decades of the 20th century.

Vehicles can cross the bridge without paying tolls, with direct access to Brazil via BR 472 highway and Uruguay via Route 3 at kilometer 636. The crossing process is straightforward and involves standard border procedures.

Beside the modern road bridge stands a historic railway bridge from 1915, showing how transportation methods evolved at this border crossing. This older structure is rarely used today but its presence recalls the long history of commerce between the two countries.