Capable of transporting more than 300 thousand people daily, Line 4 of Rio de Janeiro Metro is expected to ease the traffic in the city’s South and West Zones and improve the quality of life of thousands of people. Started in June 2010 and expected to be concluded in December 2015, Line 4 construction sites are spread for 16 km and gather professionals from the five regions of Brazil. It is Rio 2016™ Games vision put into action: “The union of all Brazilians, delivering the greatest sporting event in the world and building with pride, through Sport, the national promise of progress”.

Thiago Pimentel, from Serrinha in the State of Bahia, is an example of this union. He has been living in Rio for a year and intends to stay in town until 2016, when the first Olympic and Paralympic Games in South America will take place. Thiago works with rock blasting at the construction site in São Conrado neighbourhood. He lives with about 80 other workers from all over Brazil in accommodation in Barra neighbourhood.

“There are people from the States of Minas Gerais, Ceará, Piauí, Maranhão and Santa Catarina. All living under the same roof”, said the 30-year old worker who is also a mining technician. “I enjoy what I do very much. It’s an important job that requires me to be very careful and is similar to a mining job. The big difference is that Metro tunnels receive finishing work while mining ones don’t. On the other hand, the stones we take from here have no commercial value”.

One of four civil engineers responsible for the construction in São Conrado neighbourhood is Marcel Leitão, 25, from Rio de Janeiro. He is responsible for 150 employees out of almost 500 people working at the site. A resident of Tijuca neighbourhood, the engineer’s youth, as a matter of fact, is a great ally in keeping so many people of different backgrounds working happily.

There’s no mystery. Everybody respects the different cultures and origins. It’s a great challenge but the work is backed by a serious project, with trained people, a skilled workforce. We all have the same goal and this way the work flows normally”, said the engineer that has been working in the project for two years.

Few women work in the Metro construction sites. One of them is Jucimara Chirly Barros da Silva, 39, from the State of Bahia, who works as recorder. Among her responsibilities are controlling workers flow and checking the cargo. She is still unable to use Line 4 of Rio de Janeiro Metro to commute but she intends to watch various Rio 2016™ Olympic and Paralympic Games events and she assured us: she will take the Metro.

“I’m already excited simply thinking that the Games will take place here in Rio de Janeiro. I dream of watching the Opening Ceremony at Maracanã Stadium as well as competitions of many different sports such as gymnastics and track and field. It will be an unforgettable event”, Jucimara said.

The construction of Line 4 of Rio de Janeiro Metro started in Barra neighbourhood, where the biggest of the six new stations under construction will be built: in 2016, around 91 thousand people are expected to use Jardim Oceânico Station daily. Today, construction sites in São Conrado, Gávea and Leblon neighbourhoods are already part of the Carioca landscape. These are inevitable inconveniences that are nevertheless necessary in order to achieve a better future.