Video that went viral on social media showed concrete pillars crumbling; the work cost R$8.8 million
The government of Pará reported that the bridge over the Guamá River that connects the city of Capitão do Poço to the municipality of Santa Luzia do Pará via the PA-253 highway is not compromised. A video that went viral on the networks showed that the concrete of the structure opened in 2023 crumbled at the touch of a knife.
The video is from 2023 and was published after the collapse of the Juscelino Kubitschek bridge, which connects Tocantins to Maranhão. Seinfra (Secretariat of Infrastructure and Logistics) of Pará informed the Poder360 that the structure was reinforced. It did not specify when or how much this reinforcement cost.
Watch the video (1min46s):
According to Seinfra, the video showed one of the bridge pillars where there was “specific” degradation during the concreting process.
The winner of the tender for the bridge project was Jepengue Engenharia. The cost of the work was budgeted at 8,784,534.19.
Here is the full response from the government of Pará:
“The Secretariat of Infrastructure and Logistics informs that the video mentioned is from 2023 and that the structure of the bridge located on the PA-253 highway, in the section that connects Capitão Poço to the city of Santa Luzia do Pará, is not compromised. What was recorded in the video released at the time was the concrete cover of one of the pillars, where there was a specific breakdown during the concreting process and the pillars had already received the necessary structural reinforcement.
“Seinfra emphasizes that the bridge undergoes scheduled preventive maintenance and the structural integrity has never been compromised, ensuring the safety of those traveling along the highway.”
Because of the video that shows the concrete crumbling, the Secretary of Infrastructure and Logistics of Pará, Adler Silveira, published a new video on his profile on Monday (Dec 30, 2024) to show the current state of the structure. In the caption of the post, he wrote that he came to bring the “truth” about the bridge.
Watch (51s):