CHALLENGE
We prepared the functional, basic and executive designs for the modernization and expansion of the road that connects the municipalities of Duque de Caxias and Petrópolis – RJ, a stretch of BR-040 that is one of the most complex road infrastructure works in the country.
The challenge was great to design the largest road tunnel in Brazil, with a 4.6 km extension. The tunnel construction method – NATM – required intense participation of the design team in the calculations, technological solutions, careful monitoring of the works and feedback of the calculations based on the real-time behavior of the excavations.
In addition, we overcome the natural geological-geotechnical and topographical difficulties of the Serra region and conciliate cutting edge engineering solutions with the need to preserve the Atlantic Forest biome in which the highway is inserted.