Mega Bridge over the Amazon

In Jonathan Dimbelby's recent South American Journey he visited the Amazonian city of Manaus. There he saw a staggering engineering project.... a 3.5km bridge over the Rio Negro part of the Amazon linking Manaus with Iranduba.

Manaus is a city with a population of 1.7 million but over the water in Iranduba apart from the odd small undeveloped town it is jungle and rainforest. The project to build the first ever major bridge over the Amazon is to create a sister city across the river to ease some of the problems faced by Manaus.

One of the most impressive facts about the bridge is that every single part was made in Brazil.

It worries many environmentalists as what is to become of Iranduba. Will more and more of the rainforest be cleared for more urban cities, roads and rail? Will the Earth's lungs be constricted even further?

FOR FURTHER READING:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/jul/29/manaus-bridge-amazon-rainforest

http://www.amazonrainforestnews.com/2010/08/new-horizons-as-city-makes-connections.html