Rio Mayor Eduardo Paes inaugurated, this Friday (3/6), alongside the President of the Republic, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the Professor Moacyr Sreder Bastos Tunnel, the first tunnel in the history of Campo Grande. The new connection between the Caroba and Posse roads is expected to reduce travel time between the two regions from 15 minutes to just three.

The main delivery of the first phase of the ring road planned in the Campo Grande Mobility Plan, the project is part of a set of interventions that are already redesigning traffic in the most populous neighborhood in the country and establishing a new circulation standard in the region.

“Moacyr Sreder Bastos is a son of this land, a defender of Campo Grande, so this is a fair tribute. This is the first stretch of the Campo Grande Ring Road, connecting Estrada da Caroba to Estrada da Posse. The works continue from Estrada da Posse to Avenida Brasil. These are transformative works for the reality of this neighborhood. We lose too much time in traffic, and this project is important to change that,” said Rio Mayor Eduardo Paes.

Led by the Municipal Infrastructure Department, this is the largest project to upgrade the road system in Campo Grande’s history, a region that concentrates one of the highest travel volumes in the West Zone, driven by strong residential, commercial, and service presence.

“Improving quality of life in Rio de Janeiro is a fundamental part of a national project. We are carrying out six structural projects here. The city of Rio is a great partner of BNDES,” said the bank’s president, Aloizio Mercadante.

The first tunnel inCampo Grande’s history

The main highlight of the first phase of the ring road works, the Professor Moacyr Sreder Bastos Tunnel connects Estrada da Caroba to Estrada da Posse, creating a more direct route between downtown Campo Grande and the Posse region. In practice, the structure increases traffic capacity, reorganizes internal travel, and provides an alternative to the Estrada das Capoeiras–Estrada do Mendanha axis, one of the neighborhood’s main road corridors.

Currently, travel between Caroba and Posse roads is done via Estrada das Capoeiras, on a route of about three kilometers. With the new expressway tunnel, the trip can now be completed in approximately three minutes.

Besides shortening distances, the new connection also improves circulation throughout the region. With the reorganization of traffic flow, the average speed on nearby roads is expected to increase by about 20%. The tunnel is designed to serve around 1,800 vehicles per hour at the initial peak, with projections reaching 3,800 vehicles per hour by 2035, in addition to an estimated daily volume of 21,000 vehicles at the start of operations.

The structure has two parallel galleries, each approximately 500 meters long, both with two lanes in each direction. On the Caroba side, access is via Minas de Prata Street, which underwent urbanization works, road adjustments, and the installation of a return loop to facilitate maneuvers and distribute traffic. On the Posse side, the connection is made through a new overpass, responsible for organizing traffic and ensuring better flow and safety.

Work began in August 2023, with the first blasting to open the galleries. Excavations and drilling progressed with technical adjustments according to the terrain conditions. After this stage, the roadways, bike path, and all operational infrastructure were implemented, including ventilation, lighting, monitoring, and fire prevention systems, supervised by a Control and Operations Center.

Deliveries that consolidate the first phase of the ring road

The tunnel’s inauguration coincides with the official delivery of the main interventions in the first phase of the Campo Grande Ring Road, which are already operating and bringing significant changes to local traffic.

Among them is the revitalization of Artur Rios Street, which underwent a full upgrade and received a new strategic return point. The solution allows drivers to access Cesário de Melo Avenue and head toward Estrada da Caroba, which was also revitalized and is now more organized with less impact on the main traffic flow. The removal of traffic lights along the stretch has also helped reduce bottlenecks and improve flow.

Another highlight was the construction of the underpass beneath Cesário de Melo Avenue, about 400 meters long, which created a direct connection between Estrada do Monteiro and the Alim Pedro Overpass. The solution improves traffic for those coming from Avenida Brasil heading toward Barra da Tijuca, via Dom João VI Avenue.

In addition to speeding up the route, the underpass relieved one of the region’s most critical intersections, where Cesário de Melo meets Estrada do Monteiro. In the surrounding area, Francisco Barbosa Square was restored, gained a skate track, and the Alim Pedro Engineer Obelisk, a local historical landmark, underwent restoration.

The numbers of the Professor Moacyr Sreder Bastos Tunnel

For its construction, 225,000 tons of material were excavated, more than 13,000 truck trips were made, and nearly 16,000 cubic meters of concrete and 238,000 kilograms of steel were used.

The tunnel also features eight jet fans, 17 fire hydrants, 1,100 meters of piping, and more than 1,000 LED lighting points. There are also access points between the galleries through fire doors.

The City Hall has already fulfilled Fire Department requirements and obtained provisional approval, the first step toward issuing the definitive document certifying that the tunnel meets all functioning standards.

Who was Moacyr Sreder Bastos

Moacyr Sreder Bastos was a Campo Grande educator and entrepreneur who played a fundamental role in the neighborhood’s history. Together with his wife, Guiomar Barros Bastos, he founded the Ginásio Modelo in 1935, a school that became a milestone in local education and was later renamed Afonso Celso Technical School of Commerce.

Over the decades, the institution grew until becoming the Moacyr Sreder Bastos University Center, one of the main higher education institutions in Rio’s West Zone, offering programs from basic education to university level. This journey expanded access to education and professional training for generations of local residents.