Summary Rio authorities began demolishing a ring road as part of a huge makeover for the 2016 Olympics.
RIO DE JANEIRO (AFP) - City authorities in Rio de Janeiro began demolishing an elevated ring road skirting the city s port area on Monday as part of a huge makeover for the 2016 Olympics.
A seven kilometer (4.5 mile) tunnel will replace a road carrying some 70,000 vehicles a day, which obscured the view to the picturesque vistas over Guanabara Bay and towards Sugarloaf Mountain.
The road was closed off on Saturday night in preparation as Rio undergoes urban regeneration ahead of the 2016 Games, the first to be staged in South America.
The closure is expected to lead to bottlenecks in a city of more than six million and Transport Minister Carlos Roberto Osorio warned that a protest by port workers demanding a salary hike, coupled with a burst pipe in the area would only add to the problem.
But, long term, the new access route is expected to allow a near doubling of traffic capacity while also reducing congestion.
Authorities were left scratching their heads last month when six huge steel columns weighing 20 tons each were stolen from an access road to the ring road, which will be dynamited on November 17.
Police are still investigating the theft.
