Unbuilt Sections of BR-101: A Jungle Dilemma
Brazil, south-america
4,828 km
40 m
moderate
Year-round
Deep in the rainforest of São Paulo, Brazil, lies the eerie Viaduct Petrobras – an abandoned concrete giant! Imagine this: you stumble upon a colossal concrete structure rising out of the dense jungle, only to have it vanish just as quickly. Talk about mysterious!
Back in the day, Brazil dreamed big with the BR-101, a nearly 3,000-mile highway. But the stretch from Rio to São Paulo? It was swallowed by the jungle.
Then came the 70s, with even bigger plans! The Viaduct Petrobras was meant to be a game-changer, built over the jungle along paths carved out for pipelines.
Picture this: nestled in the Sierra do Mar mountains near the southeast coast, this viaduct was built in tough conditions. Think heat, bugs, trees, the works! This key piece was meant to shave off over 30 miles of coastal road between Rio and São Paulo. The asphalted viaduct soars 131 feet above the jungle floor and stretches nearly 1,000 feet long.
But as fate would have it, economic troubles hit, and this awesome structure was abandoned, left to fade into the mists. Today, it's a haunting reminder of dreams left unfinished, a concrete ghost in a green paradise.
Road Details
- Country
- Brazil
- Continent
- south-america
- Length
- 4,828 km
- Max Elevation
- 40 m
- Difficulty
- moderate
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