Puente Internacional de la Concordia, International road bridge at Artigas-Quaraí border, Brazil and Uruguay
The Puente Internacional de la Concordia is a curved road bridge over the Cuareim River between Artigas, Uruguay, and Quaraí, Brazil. It is 760 m long, mostly on Uruguayan territory, 11.6 m wide with two vehicle lanes and two pedestrian walkways, and about 40 m high. It is considered the longest curved bridge in South America.
The idea dates to 1914, when a bridge linking Quaraí to São Eugênio was first recorded in the Diário do Congresso Nacional. In 1947 presidents Tomás Berreta and Eurico Gaspar Dutra agreed on the project, ratified in 1950, and Dutra laid its foundation stone in 1949. Built by the Rio de Janeiro firm Sotege between 1967 and 1968, it was inaugurated on 3 April 1968 by presidents Jorge Pacheco Areco and Artur da Costa e Silva.
The bridge connects two neighboring communities and allows residents of Quaraí and Artigas to visit family, friends, and business partners across the border. It has become woven into the daily fabric of local life, strengthening ties between the two populations.
Travelers should carry valid identification documents and be prepared to declare goods at customs checkpoints at both ends of the bridge. Border procedures may take varying amounts of time depending on traffic and the time of day.
The bridge's engineer was Oswaldo Lucho, a native of Quaraí, and the contractor was Sotagem Benites of Rio de Janeiro. The 1968 opening drew presidents Artur da Costa e Silva and Jorge Pacheco Areco, plus mayor Heraclides Santa Helena and intendente Atilio Ferrandís. Around 8,000 to 10,000 vehicles cross daily, peaking near midday.
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