Olympic Deadline for Bike Path Repair

(ATR) Rio de Janeiro Mayor Eduardo Paes says the Tim Maia bike path will be rebuilt before the 2016 Olympics open.

Five people were on the section of the TiThe bike path collapsed on April 22 killing at least two people. Five cyclists were using the path at the time of the collapse, and search and rescue teams are still working to locate the remaining three bodies.

Initial reports showed that strong waves from the Atlantic Ocean battered the bike path, leading to the collapse. A report commissioned by City Hall is expected to be completed within 30 days to determine the cause of the accident.

Paes told Brazilian outlet Globo that the construction consortium, Contemat, in charge of the project will lead the reconstruction efforts. He added that the construction will be completed ahead of the 2016 Olympics.

The full bike path will link Ipanema beach to Barra da Tijuca. The project cost $12.6 million to build, and the company tasked in building the project is owned by relatives of the Rio municipal public works secretary Antonio Paulo Viegas Figueira de Mello.

The bike path is one of the infrastructure projects being built by the city of Rio de Janeiro in the name of Olympic legacy. The path was not included in the city’s bid for the Olympic Games, but was pursued to help modernize the transit infrastructure of Rio de Janeiro ahead of the Olympics and beyond.

Rio de Janeiro has 101 days left to finalize all preparations for the 2016 Olympics, including the completion of metro and bus-rapid transit lines connecting the South Zone of the city to Barra, where the Olympic Park is located.

This is not the first infrastructure project to fail in Brazil ahead of a mega-sporting event. During the 2014 World Cup an overpass built for the event collapsed in Belo Horizonte, killing two people.

Written by Aaron Bauer in Rio de Janeiro

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