The Journalist Phelippe Daou Bridge () is the fourth longest bridge in Brazil at long, with a

cable-stayed bridge A cable-stayed bridge has one or more ''towers'' (or ''pylons''), from which wire rope, cables support the bridge deck. A distinctive feature are the cables or wikt:stay#Etymology 3, stays, which run directly from the tower to the deck, norm ...

section of , over the Rio Negro that links the city of

Manaus Manaus () is the List of capitals of subdivisions of Brazil, capital and largest city of the States of Brazil, Brazilian state of Amazonas (Brazilian state), Amazonas. It is the List of largest cities in Brazil, seventh-largest city in Brazil, w ...

with the small town of Iranduba in the state of Amazonas in

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

. It spans the Rio Negro just before its confluence with the Amazon River, and is the only major bridge across the Amazon or any tributary in the Amazon basin. Its construction was marked by controversy over the potential effects of roadbuilding in the

Amazon basin The Amazon basin is the part of South America drained by the Amazon River and its tributary, tributaries. The Amazon drainage basin covers an area of about , or about 35.5 percent of the South American continent. It is located in the countries ...

, which could lead to

deforestation Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal and destruction of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. Ab ...

. A 2018 study found that the construction of this bridge did induce deforestation. A quintessential Bridge to nowhere, it does not connect to the south side of the Amazon River and the rest of Brazil. Its construction has raised the possibility of expansion and reconstruction of the federal highway BR-319, which links the region to

Porto Velho Porto Velho (, ''Old Port'') is the capital (political), capital of the Brazilian States of Brazil, state of Rondônia, in the upper Amazon River basin. The population is 460,434 people (as of the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics, ...

, Rondônia, and thus to the rest of Brazil. That road is on the south side of the Amazon, and so any vehicle from Manaus would still have to make a ferry connection across the main stem of the Amazon, despite the completion of the Rio Negro bridge. File:Ponte Rio Negro Inauguração.jpg, Inauguration of the bridge

References

External links

Secretaria de Estado de Infraestrutura - SEINFRA
(Infrastructure Site of the State of Amazonas) Cable-stayed bridges in Brazil Manaus Buildings and structures in Amazonas (Brazilian state) Transport in Amazonas (Brazilian state) Bridges completed in 2011 {{Brazil-bridge-struct-stub