The construction of Rio de Janeiro’s metropolitan beltway, which is part of the 2016 Olympic Games bid, has started. President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva authorized the startup of works on Monday, in Itaguaí, at Rio de Janeiro’s lowlands, besides governor Sérgio Cabral Filho.

Included in the Growth Acceleration Program (PAC), the lane between roads will cross eight Rio de Janeiro cities. It will solve the bottlenecking problems and traffic of trucks on Rio de Janeiro’s urban roads. Altogether, 145 kilometers of road will direct the cargo transport to the north region of the state.

Lula also took the opportunity to reassure his support to Rio 2016 bid campaign. According to the President, the goal is to offer all possible conditions for the full development of the city.

- The start of the works emphasizes the federal government’s commitment to Rio de Janeiro’s bid to the 2016 Olympic Games and helps the city to make up the whole infrastructure required to host the event – he said.

The governor Sérgio Cabral emphasized that the road will be quite significant for the people living in the state. It consists in four stretches that cross the cities of Itaboraí, Guapimirim, Magé, Duque de Caxias, Nova Iguaçu, Japeri, Seropédica and Itaguaí, located in the Metropolitan Region.

- It is one of the greatest transport investments ever made in Rio de Janeiro, which represents an important goal of Rio 2016’s bid and it will be a long-lasting legacy for the metropolitan region’s population – he said.

For the Brazilian Olympic Committee’s President, Carlos Arthur Nuzman, it is another proof of the government’s commitment to the bid.

- We can show to the International Olympic Committee Members that Rio de Janeiro is getting prepared to host the 2016 Games – he stated.