One of Brazil’s main road routes will be upgraded

Brazil’s Ministry of Transportation is giving the go-ahead for a project that will see the upgrade of a 100km stretch of the BR-381 route. Located in Minas Gerais, the BR-381 will be widened and improved with the addition of extra lanes, making it a dual carriageway. The Ministry of Transportation has opened the first phase of the project to bids and bids have to be submitted before December 17th 2012. The first section of the BR-381 upgrade is expected to cost in the order of US$541 million to carry out and work is scheduled to commence in the first quarter of 2013. One of the more complex components of this stretch of the BR-381 upgrade will be the construction of its new tunnel sections. The Ministry of Transportation is also opening five other stretches of the project to bidding.