The Franco-Brazilian Binational Bridge spans the
Oyapock River, linking the cities of
Oiapoque in
Amapá,
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
and
Saint-Georges-de-l'Oyapock in
French Guiana
French Guiana ( or ; french: link=no, Guyane ; gcr, label=French Guianese Creole, Lagwiyann ) is an overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France on the northern Atlantic ...
,
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...
. The bridge is
cable-stayed, with two towers rising to a height of and a length of . There are two lanes for vehicles with a total width of and a pedestrian sidewalk with a width of . The vertical clearance under the bridge is .
Its construction was completed in August 2011. However, due to delays in the construction of Brazilian checkpoint facilities, the bridge was not open to traffic for many years.
The inauguration ceremony of the bridge finally took place on 18 March 2017. Starting from 08:00 on 20 March 2017, the bridge has been open to members of the public.
The bridge is toll-free and is accessible to both private cars and pedestrians. On the French side, there is a border checkpoint staffed by three governmental agencies: the
Border Police
A border guard of a country is a national security agency that performs border security. Some of the national border guard agencies also perform coast guard (as in Germany, Italy or Ukraine) and rescue service duties.
Name and uniform
In diff ...
,
Customs and the
Directorate for Food, Agriculture and Forestry. The border checkpoint is open from 08:00 to 12:00 and from 14:00 to 18:00 on weekdays, and is closed on Saturdays, Sundays and
Brazilian public holidays.
Until the Brazilian border outposts are completed, only passenger vehicles (not cargo vehicles or public transportation vehicles) are permitted access.
As the Brazilian side of the bridge is not staffed, travellers arriving in Brazil are required to stop at the offices of the
Secretaria da Receita Federal do Brasil and the
Federal Police in
Oiapoque to regularise their entry.
With the bridge open to traffic, it is now possible to drive from
Cayenne to
Macapá, the capital of the Brazilian state of
Amapá, although parts of the
BR-156 federal highway on the Brazilian side are yet to be paved (of the between
Oiapoque and
Macapá, around has not yet been paved).
History
Though the bridge was officially announced in 1997, it was only after nearly 10 years of stalling and talks that a model of the bridge between France and Brazil was finally unveiled by French president
Nicolas Sarkozy and Brazilian president
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (; born Luiz Inácio da Silva; 27 October 1945), known mononymously as Lula, is a Brazilian politician, trade unionist, and former metalworker who is the president-elect of Brazil. A member of the Workers' Par ...
on February 14, 2008.
The site chosen for the positioning of the bridge required a length of , which includes a span of approximately over water, and valued at (approximately ).
Construction of the bridge was undertaken by a partnership between EGESA and the Consórcio Metropolitano de Transportes - CMT, both of which are headquartered in Brasília. The Professor Carlos Augusto Bittencourt Foundation - FUNCAB (based in the city of Niterói, Rio de Janeiro) was hired to oversee the environmental engineering of the project, so that the construction of the bridge does not harm the natural environment. The bridge is part of the Guianese Shield Hub of the
Initiative for the Integration of the Regional Infrastructure of South America. The construction of this bridge came after the signing of an international treaty between France and Brazil in July 2005. Furthermore, the connection between Route N2 and
BR-156 is yet another initiative undertaken under the scope of the Brazilian government's PAC (Growth Acceleration Plan) infrastructure project.
The Route
BR-156 was conceived as development factor and a national security initiative.
In the words of Walter do Carmo pioneer, entrepreneur and engineer actively involved on the project, "the federal highway BR-156 was planned to establish the terrestrial junction between the Amazon River Basin, south of Macapá and Oyapock River Basin in northern Brazil's border with French Guiana."
This bridge is the first land crossing (ferries have been used historically) along the border between France and Brazil, and indeed it is the first terrestrial crossing between French Guiana and any of its neighbors in northern South America. Currently, there is a good ferry that crosses the
Maroni River between French Guiana and
Suriname
Suriname (; srn, Sranankondre or ), officially the Republic of Suriname ( nl, Republiek Suriname , srn, Ripolik fu Sranan), is a country on the northeastern Atlantic coast of South America. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north ...
that links Albina, in Suriname, with
Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni in French Guiana. It is also possible to travel from Albina to Georgetown (Guyana) by highway; it is planned to build a bridge between Suriname and Guyana, replacing the current ferry. Onwards to Venezuela, one can only travel by sea, but a road link is planned. In this case, it will be possible to drive from
Macapá to Venezuela and Colombia with only one ferry crossing.
Though the Oyapock Bridge was to be inaugurated in early 2012, it remained closed as the road on the Brazilian side was not completely paved. As of April 2013, the opening was scheduled for the end of 2013, but as of January 2015 the bridge had still not opened due to delays in the construction of the Brazilian customs facility, and no opening date was forecast.
Another reason for the delayed opening of the bridge, as identified by
Brazilian Senator João Capiberibe, was the lack of reciprocity pertaining to the
visa requirements for Brazilian and French nationals entering each other's territory (French nationals could
enter Brazil visa-free for up to 3 months, whereas Brazilian nationals
had to obtain a visa to enter French Guiana, a requirement which was justified by the French government on the grounds of high levels of illegal immigration by
Brazilians
Brazilians ( pt, Brasileiros, ) are the citizens of Brazil. A Brazilian can also be a person born abroad to a Brazilian parent or legal guardian as well as a person who acquired Brazilian citizenship. Brazil is a multiethnic society, which me ...
working as gold panners in
French Guiana
French Guiana ( or ; french: link=no, Guyane ; gcr, label=French Guianese Creole, Lagwiyann ) is an overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France on the northern Atlantic ...
).
In 2014, the Brazilian and French governments reached an agreement allowing residents of Oiapoque in Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
and Saint-Georges-de-l'Oyapock in French Guiana
French Guiana ( or ; french: link=no, Guyane ; gcr, label=French Guianese Creole, Lagwiyann ) is an overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France on the northern Atlantic ...
to apply for a local border crossing card ('carte de frontalier'), enabling them to visit each other's city visa-free for up to 72 hours (but not further inland). The local border crossing card has a maximum validity of 2 years and contains a biometric chip; it can be used to cross the border without having to present a Brazilian passport. The arrangement came into effect on 1 January 2015 and, as of 1 October 2015, over 200 cards had been issued to Brazilian citizens resident in Oiapoque. According to the French government, the Brazilian government was 'largely satisfied' with this arrangement (though it fell short of full visa waiver reciprocity).[
Even though the Brazilian checkpoint had not yet been completed and full visa waiver reciprocity had not yet been achieved, due to pressure from the French government, the bridge was inaugurated on 18 March 2017 in the presence of officials from Brazil and French Guiana (including the ]Governor
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
of Amapá, Waldez Góes, the Prefect
Prefect (from the Latin ''praefectus'', substantive adjectival form of ''praeficere'': "put in front", meaning in charge) is a magisterial title of varying definition, but essentially refers to the leader of an administrative area.
A prefect's ...
of French Guiana
French Guiana ( or ; french: link=no, Guyane ; gcr, label=French Guianese Creole, Lagwiyann ) is an overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France on the northern Atlantic ...
, Martin Jaeger, and the Mayor
In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well as ...
of Saint-Georges-de-l'Oyapock, Georges Elfort). The French
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
Minister of Ecology, Sustainable Development and Energy, Ségolène Royal, was originally due to attend the inauguration ceremony, but in the end was not present. The official reason for her absence at the inauguration ceremony was that her Brazilian counterpart would not be present, but local media suggested that the actual reason was the various protests she faced during her visit in French Guiana, which led her to cut short her visit in the overseas department and fly back to Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...
on 17 March 2017.
Gallery
File:Pont SGO.jpg, View from the French side
File:Postes de contrôle.JPG, Control posts
See also
* List of bridges in France
* Approuague Bridge — another bridge on the N2 road, spanning the Approuague River near Régina
* Takutu River Bridge — a similar bridge between Brazil and Guyana.
References
External links
*France 24
A bridge between Europe and Latin America
*Gouvernement Francai
{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120425092129/http://www.guyane.developpement-durable.gouv.fr/travaux-du-pont-sur-l-oyapock-cote-a361.html , date=2012-04-25
Bridges in Brazil
International bridges
Brazil–France border
Cable-stayed bridges in Brazil
Bridges in French Guiana
International bridges in France
Buildings and structures in Saint-Georges, French Guiana
2011 establishments in France
2011 establishments in Brazil