MARECHAL HERMES BRIDGE

The MARECHAL HERMES DA FONSECA BRIDGE was part of an old project to connect Rio de Janeiro to Belém do Pará by railway, a plan that was later cancelled. In 1918, Colonel Joaquim Fernandes Ramos succeeded in obtaining federal government approval for the necessary funding to build a bridge connecting Pirapora to the São Francisco de Pirapora district – now Buritizeiro. Construction of the bridge began in 1920, with a length of 694 meters and a weight of 723 tons. The metal structures and cement were imported from Belgium and the USA.

The project was supervised by Engineer Demóstenes Rockert (Chief of the 10th Residence of the EFCB / Central Brazil Railway). The bridge was inaugurated on October 7, 1922, in the presence of President Epitácio Pessoa. It was declared a historical heritage site in 1985 and a municipal heritage site in 2003. It is considered one of the first major works of modern architecture in Brazil, a landmark of the landscape and a major tourist attraction in Pirapora and the São Francisco River Valley.