The work and the technique: Anchieta - Imigrantes Motorway System, Brazil

Rodovia dos Imigrantes, whose name pays tribute to the immigrants who contributed to the country's post-independence growth and prosperity, further supplemented the existing Anchieta motorway, which was congested with traffic at the time.

In 1999, it became necessary to modernise the infrastructure. The Brazilian government commissioned a consortium consisting of the then Impregilo later merged into the Webuild Group and the local company Almeida to undertake the project.

Work began in 1999, and concluded in 2002.The same consortium carried out other important work between 2008 and 2014.

The upgrading and development of the motorway system encountered significant engineering challenges. These included building four drainage water treatment plants with a capacity of 700,000 litres per hour, to ensure that the water used during excavation was clean and channelled to the natural environment. Using water from a spring near Serra do Mar to wash roads, viaducts and bridges, the project reduced water consumption during construction.