The celebrations for the 60th anniversary of the Friendship Bridge, held in recent days, brought to light uncomfortable similarities with the Integration Bridge.
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H2FOZ Special – 60 years of the Friendship Bridge
The inauguration of the “first bridge” between Brazil and Paraguay, for example, took three years. The work was officially completed since March 1962, but the “ribbon cutting” by the presidents of both countries would only take place on March 27, 1965.
The complete inauguration of BR-277, which begins at Ponte da Amizade and ends at the port of Paranaguá, would take even longer, until 1969.
This does not mean that the highway, even under construction, was not in use. It does reveal, however, that the bridge's full potential only became available from 1969 onwards, with the definitive road connection between Paraguay and the Atlantic Ocean.
On the other hand, the “second bridge”, the Integration Bridge (nine kilometers south of the Friendship Bridge), still has no opening date.
The work, which began in 2019, has been officially completed since August 2023, but customs, dry port(s) and access roads are still missing.
The Perimetral Leste, in Brazil, and the Corredor Metropolitano del Este, in Paraguay, are still under construction, with completion scheduled for sometime between 2025 and 2026.
Opening of the Integration Bridge
The unfinished access works would not prevent, at least in theory, the Integration Bridge from being gradually opened to the public, as initially planned. The Friendship Bridge itself underwent a similar process, with its opening before 1965.
The realities, of course, differ from one another. The border dynamics of the 1960s bear little or no resemblance to the current profile of the flow of cargo and people.
It is striking, however, that the two works, even though separated by six decades, suffer from similar problems.
Another curious coincidence, revealed by bilateral agreements: originally, Ponte da Amizade and Ponta da Integração would have a highway and a railway. In both cases, the railway was cut from the projects due to issues mainly related to construction costs.
60 years of the Friendship Bridge
Throughout the week, the portal H2FOZ published a series of special content about the 60th anniversary of the Friendship Bridge. The materials – text, photos, videos and quiz – can be viewed in full at clicking here.
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Thank you very much for reading and have a great week!
Guilherme Wojciechowski is a contributor to H2FOZ and writes, on Sundays, the weekly edition of the Letter to the Reader.
