Uruguay inaugurates US$156mn viaduct at Montevideo port

Press release from the Presidency of Uruguay

This is a machine translation of the original release issued in Spanish

The Government inaugurates this Monday, the 12th, a 1,800-meter viaduct, with two main access ramps and a 160-meter-long arch bridge, added to annexed works in the entrance area to the port of Montevideo, which will improve circulation. The project, which implied an investment of 156,000,000 dollars, will separate the vehicular crossing, in the port boulevard, with the Central Railroad track.

"There will be a before and after in the western access to the city of Montevideo and the port, because this work offers several solutions," explained the Minister of Transportation and Public Works, José Luis Falero, to Presidential Communication.

The new viaduct , on the Rambla Sud América, will speed up mobility, since there will be no crossings on this 1,800-meter stretch. Interference in the circulation of trucks entering the port will also be eliminated, for which a single access will be maintained in the northern zone and the port area will be expanded.

The project included the construction of three lanes in each direction, with the aim of reducing transfer times and increasing circulation capacity at this point, as well as lighting the entire section. From now on, light vehicles will cross the viaduct and trucks will enter the port without difficulty under it, just like the old railway line.

The final investment of the Uruguayan State reached 156,000,000 dollars, the financing of the project was in charge of the National Administration of Ports and the Fonplata subregional development bank.

Falero insisted on the importance of this improvement, since it is the western entrance to the city, one of the largest works in Montevideo for many years. He defined it as a “spectacular” and “very necessary” architecture and engineering project.

The work began in June 2019, and the current administration endorsed its continuity and even decided to expand it, with the incorporation of reforms within the port, to modernize it and consolidate it as a logistics operations center in the region. This includes better internal traffic conditions, with an esplanade for the northern entrance, which will allow trucks not to remain on the street.

In this sense, he added that work will continue on the unified control systems, to reduce waiting times for trucks between scales, weighing and Livestock and Customs permits.

The minister considered that the recently completed works are part of a second phase, which began with the interchange of the Metropolitan Agrifood Unit (UAM), on Route 5, which improved market entry.