The bridge over the Autaz Mirim River, located at km 25 of the BR-319 in Amazonas, collapsed on Saturday, 8, isolating the local population. The highway was already closed by the National Department of Transport Infrastructure (Dnit) and no one was injured. The incident occurs 10 days after another landslide that brought trouble to the region: the crossing over the Curuçá River, which had at least three fatalities.
The structure is the only land access from the state to the rest of the country and some municipalities that depend on it are experiencing shortages, with a lack of food, gasoline and supplies since the collapse of the first bridge. To get to the other side, people are using canoes.
According to the governor of Amazonas, Wilson Lima, in a post on social media, a mobilization for repairs at the site has already been carried out. “Tomorrow (today) another team from the federal government will arrive in Amazonas to assess how to resolve access in the area. Once again, the State is at the disposal of the DNIT to help with whatever it takes,” he said in the publication.
The affected stretch of the BR-319 connects Manaus to the State of Rondônia and is on the way to cities such as Autazes, Careiro Castanho and Manaquiri.
Before the collapse, the bridge creaked and startled passing motorists, according to reports by people present at the time. After that, the ban was confirmed.
In September, in the incident in Curuçá, the crossing also presented problems and, therefore, the circulation was limited to light vehicles only. After what happened, the state government said it would build a metallic structure on a provisional basis, but this has not yet come to fruition.
The Civil Police of Amazonas, the Federal Police and the Federal Public Ministry are continuing their investigations to identify those responsible for the first collapse. There is still no more concrete information on how the procedure will be in Autaz Mirim.
Source: CNN Brasil
