In the middle of the way, the Atlantic Rainforest

Northern section of theRodoanel (Road Ring)MárioCovasovercomes recession, political crisis and engineering challenges and finally gets 50 percent of concluded works

Works in the Northern Section of theRodoanelMárioCovas—road which is part of the 180-km complex designed to circumvent the Metropolitan Area of São Pauloreducing significantly the flow of trucks coming from state hinterlandwhich impact the traffic in the urban streets of the capital—achieved 53 percent of conclusion. The physical advancement of the Northern Section is being commemorated as a triumph by the contractors involved in the construction and byDersa – DesenvolvimentoRodoviário S/A, mixed capital company which represents the government of the State of São Paulo, contractor of the project.

With an estimated total cost of R$ 6.85 billion (including 4.30 billion of works), the Northern Section of theRodoanel Mario Covas, which started in March, 2013, stretches from the end of the Eastern Section, between the intersections withPresidente Dutra Highway andRaimundo Pereira de Magalhães Avenue (where the Western Section starts), interconnecting with GuarulhosInternational Airport andFernão Dias Road.It is 44 km long, with additional 3.6 km of the interconnection road to Guarulhos International Airport.

In addition to divert and distribute the passing-through traffic (mainly of trucks) to the surroundings of the Metropolitan Region of São Paulo, the Northern Section will make easier—when concluded—the access to the Port of Santos. It will also redefine the logistic platform of transport in the metropolitan area of São Paulo(from radial to ring), reducing the time spent in traffic congestion, fuel expenses and consequently in emission of pollutants.

Thereduction of 23 percent in the average daily volume of trucks in the Marginal Tietê Avenue—to be achieved with the conclusion of works—will correspond to 17,000 trucks per day. A reduction of 6 to 8 percent in vehicle CO(greenhouse gases) emissions in the metropolitan area of São Paulo is also expected due to the operation of this section. The project will be an important shortcut for all the transport which involves the Greater São Paulo and will become the main road axis of the country to get the ports of Santos and São Sebastião.

The Northern Section will be perfectly integrated with the other sections of the Road Ring, complementing this road project. The main accesses to the Northern Section will reach the roadsPresidente Dutra (BR–116) andFernão Dias (BR-381), in addition to the intersection with theRaimundo Pereira de Magalhães Avenue. The access to Inajar de Souza Avenue, which will be an important connection with the northern area of the municipality of São Paulo and will make easier the access from any point of the state to the Franco Montoro International Airport also stands out.

In addition, the whole Metropolitan Region of São Paulo (Santana do Parnaíba, Cajamar, Francisco Morato, Franco da Rocha, Caieiras, Mairiporã, Santa Isabel, Arujá, Guarulhos and São Paulo) will take advantage from the conclusion of the Road Ring.

The project was divided in 6 subsections as follows:1 - Constr. Mendes Jr / IsoluxCorsán; 2 – OAS S/A; 3 –OAS S/A; 4 – AccionaInfraestructuras S/A; 5 - Cons. Construcap / Copasa;6 – AccionaInfraestructuras S/A.