Portuguese 
Resident Rose Neves summed up half a century in two sentences: decades of struggle, and so much effort to open this street. The Anita Garibaldi connection opened to traffic in Ponta Grossa on September 7, 2026, shortening the distance between two neighboring neighborhoods from 6.7 kilometers to less than one.
The bottleneck was the kind of thing only those who live there can understand.
The neighborhoods of Órfãs and Boa Vista are right next to each other, but anyone needing to drive from one to the other had to take a longer route, traveling about 6.7 kilometers and taking around 11 minutes on a trip that, in a straight line, is almost nothing.
Now it’s less than 1 kilometer and even 2 minutes.
-
Resident of São Valentim do Sul Faces Longer Commutes After 2023 Flood as New R$31.3 Million Bridge Nears Completion
-
Salesman Encounters Full Closure at Belvedere Junction, Criticizes Construction Timing: 101-Ton Beam Lifted by 500-Ton Crane in R$ 22.8 Million Project Affecting 60,000 Vehicles Daily
-
New Rule Imposes Fines Up to R$ 17,500 and Boarding Restrictions for Serious Misconduct on Domestic Flights
-
Cubatão Offers 30 Free Spots in Logistics Assistant Course Tied to City’s Industrial and Port Focus
Fifty Years of Waiting for Just Over Six Hundred Meters of Road
The disproportion between the waiting time and the size of the project is what stands out the most in this case.
The connection is more than 630 meters long and cost R$ 16 million (approximately US$ 3 million), modest amounts by roadway project standards, yet the city waited nearly 50 years to see this stretch open.
It’s not a viaduct, it’s not a tunnel, it’s not a bridge. It’s a street.
The Mayor Said They Weren’t Just Opening a Road, But a Path
At the traffic opening, Mayor Elizabeth Schmidt emphasized the distinction between the two.
According to her, the city wasn’t simply opening a street that day; it was opening a path that Ponta Grossa had waited nearly fifty years for, reflecting the significance of the project for those who depend on it.
Secretary Luiz Henrique Honesko added that it was not a conventional paving project.
For the Resident, the Word That Summarizes It All Is Miracle
Rose Neves attended the opening and spoke as someone who had been waiting for a long time.
She described the process as decades of struggle, and a lot of effort to get this street open, and expressed the outcome simply: here is a victory, it’s a miracle.
Another resident, Carlos, looked at the practical and commercial side of the change, noting that the increased traffic flow improves the area’s commerce as well.
These are two perspectives on the same project, both conveying something true about what a road connection does in a neighborhood.
What 9 Minutes Saved Means When It Repeats Every Day
This is where the calculation that no one does at the ribbon-cutting comes in.
The difference between 11 minutes and 2 minutes may seem small when seen once, but those who cross this stretch twice a day save about 18 minutes daily, amounting to over six hours per month and approaching three entire days over the course of a year.
Add to this the fuel savings from traveling 5.7 kilometers less per trip and the wear and tear on the vehicle that no longer occurs.
This is why small neighborhood projects often yield more return per real invested than headline mega-projects.
Ambulance, school, and commerce feel the changes first
When a journey of almost seven kilometers turns into less than one, the effects are not felt equally.
The first to notice are the services dependent on travel time, and that’s where the project shifts from convenience to necessity, as nine fewer minutes between two neighborhoods can significantly impact emergency response times.
The local economy follows closely behind, as residents observe that vehicle flow equates to foot traffic passing through their doors.
The holiday chosen for the opening was no coincidence
The connection was inaugurated on September 7, with the city hall announcing the results on September 8.
This timing typically yields a well-attended opening and attractive photos, and there’s nothing wrong with that, as long as readers can distinguish the ceremony from the material facts it celebrates.
The material fact, in this case, is solid: the road is open, and the journey is shorter.
Why a project like this can be stalled for decades
It’s important to be honest about what the official notice does not explain.
The city hall does not detail what held the project back for fifty years, and urban connections often face challenges such as expropriation, crossing private properties, difficult terrain, or simply budget priorities that never come to fruition.
The secretary hinted that this was not a conventional paving project, but no technical details were disclosed.
I prefer to acknowledge the gap rather than fill it with assumptions.
R$ 16 million for 630 meters is a calculation worth considering
Dividing the investment by the length leads to something close to R$ 25,000 per meter of road constructed.
This seems expensive to those who imagine only asphalt being spread out, but urban connections often entail earthworks, drainage, containment, lighting, signage, and sometimes expropriation—items that are not visible in the photo but account for a substantial portion of the cost.
The secretary’s remark about this not being a conventional paving project points in that direction, even if he didn’t specify which services carried the most weight.
A methodological note, given that the source is the city hall: the fifty-year timeline and the journey comparison come from the official announcement and should be understood as figures provided by those who delivered the project.
The number of residents benefiting has not been disclosed
This is the missing piece of information needed to accurately gauge the impact.
The city hall did not quantify how many people currently use or will begin using the new segment, and without that, it is impossible to calculate how many hours the entire city saves daily—only what each driver saves individually.
The official notice, which includes statements from the mayor, the secretary, and local residents, is published on the Ponta Grossa city hall website.
Nearly every Brazilian city has a road like this, promised for decades but never opened. Share in the comments what yours is.
What road in your city has been promised for years that would shorten your daily commute?
