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DNIT approved the project for a 1.2 km bridge on BR-163 over the Uruguai River, a structure costing R$ 379 million between Itapiranga (SC) and Barra do Guarita (RS) that will retire the ferry used for decades and shorten the route by up to 100 kilometers.
The bridge on BR-163 over the Uruguai River is a R$ 379 million project that DNIT has just approved in its basic engineering stage, paving the way for the future contracting of the work. Today, those who need to cross the river between Itapiranga (SC) and Barra do Guarita (RS) have two options: wait for the ferry with limited capacity or take detours that add between 88 and 160 kilometers to the journey, depending on the chosen route. The alternative crossings with fixed structures are far away, both via BR-158 near Palmitos and via SC-480 and RS-406 in the Chapecó region, forcing drivers and transporters to take routes that consume time and fuel. The new bridge will eliminate these detours and create a direct connection, shortening the journey by up to 100 kilometers and saving between one hour and 1h45 on travel time.
The construction is a demand with over half a century of history in the region. The organized movement in defense of the crossing gained momentum in 2018, bringing together entrepreneurs, municipal leaders, and politicians from both states under the coordination of Rodrigo Locatelli, who defines the project as a dream shared by thousands of residents over generations. In 2021, mayors from the macro-region of Extreme West Santa Catarina reinforced the formal request, pointing out that the absence of the bridge hinders economic growth and imposes avoidable logistical costs on producers and consumers on both sides of the river.
What DNIT has already approved and what is needed for the bridge to be built
The National Department of Infrastructure confirmed the approval of the engineering project, a stage that validates the layout, technical specifications, and budget of the bridge. The process now enters a phase of internal procedures that precedes the publication of the contractor bidding notice. However, the progress of the bidding depends on a condition that has not yet been met: the completion of environmental studies, including the impact assessment and the corresponding report, documents that are still being prepared.
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The environmental licensing is the factor that can accelerate or delay the bridge. Locatelli assesses the scenario with optimism and states that so far no obstacles have arisen that indicate a refusal of the license, but acknowledges that this stage is historically the most unpredictable in works over watercourses. The contract for the technical studies and projects was signed in 2022, and the work included geological surveys, feasibility analysis, and the selection of the best positioning for the structure, with the final version delivered at the end of 2025.
The dimensions of the bridge and the accesses to be constructed
DNIT designed a crossing with an approximate length of 1.2 kilometers crossing the Rio Uruguai. On the Santa Catarina side, the bridge will connect to the highway via an access road approximately 7 kilometers long starting from the community of Santa Fé Alta, in the municipality of Itapiranga. On the Rio Grande do Sul side, the access will be about 4.5 kilometers from the locality of Remanço do Uruguai, in Barra do Guarita.
The budget of R$ 379 million covers not only the bridge but also road contours and integration works with the existing road system. These complementary accesses are essential for the crossing to absorb the expected traffic volume without transferring congestion to secondary roads. The bridge alone solves the problem of crossing the river, but without adequate connections to the highways, the logistical gain would be compromised.
How the bridge will change freight transport between SC and RS
The area between the extreme west of Santa Catarina and the northwest of Rio Grande do Sul concentrates agro-industries, cooperatives, and producers that move grains, meats, and dairy products in significant volumes. The bridge on BR-163 will allow heavy cargo trucks to cross the Rio Uruguai without the restrictions of hours, capacity, and weather conditions that the ferry imposes, eliminating a bottleneck that increases freight costs and reduces the competitiveness of regional products. The savings of up to 100 kilometers per trip translates directly into less fuel, less mechanical wear, and fewer hours paid to the driver.
For the surrounding municipalities, the impact goes beyond logistics. Communities that currently suffer from isolation caused by the absence of the bridge should benefit from new commercial flows, easier access to health and education services from the neighboring state, and potential attraction of investments that currently migrate to regions with more developed infrastructure. Residents of Itapiranga, in Santa Catarina, and Barra do Guarita, in Rio Grande do Sul, are separated by just a few minutes of water, but by land, the distance multiplies absurdly, a reality that the bridge will definitively correct.
What the BR-163 bridge represents for the region after decades of waiting
The fixed crossing over the Uruguay River in this section is more than just a roadwork: it is the correction of a gap that has segregated neighboring communities for entire generations. The ferry that has been the only available resource for decades will be retired, and the river will cease to function as a barrier to become merely the landscape that drivers will observe while crossing the concrete structure. DNIT has already validated the project, technical studies are completed, and environmental licensing is progressing without signs of hindrance.
The remaining question is the timeline. Between the publication of the bidding notice, the selection of the construction company, the signing of the contract, and the actual start of the works, the process could still take months or years, and the population that has been waiting since the 1970s knows that bureaucracy does not respect urgency. Nevertheless, the project’s approval by DNIT is the most concrete advancement the BR-163 bridge has had in over half a century of claims.
And you, do you know this region and have you ever needed to use the ferry to cross the Uruguay River? Do you think the bridge should have been built decades ago? Leave your opinion in the comments.
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