Two big rivers, the Rio Paraná and the Rio Uruguay, cut the Argentine
provinces of Entre Rios, Corrientes, and Misiones off from the rest of the
country so completely that they can only be reached by ship or by air.
That of course entails such transport delays that the whole economy suffers
as a result. The government therefore decided in 1960 to build a tunnel
under the water between the cities of Santa Fé and Paraná.
In 1964 a joint venture headed by HOCHTIEF started its work. The procedure
chosen was to build tunnel elements in a dry dock and then float them into
position and sink them. The tunnel was completed in 1969 and was not only
the first of its kind anywhere in South America but also the first fixed link
between the left and right banks of the Rio Paraná.
Nearly 30 years later HOCHTIEF was at work again in the region. As a member
of a construction and operating group the company built a fixed link about
37 miles long between the cities of Rosario and Victoria. A total of 6 miles of
this route is carried on bridges and 30 miles on embankments. The real
masterpiece is a suspension bridge with a span of 1082 feet over the Rio
Paraná. Work started on the project in 1998 and is due to finish in 2002.
The concession for the construction and operation of the route is limited to 25 years.