The International Friendship Bridge, the main connection between Ciudad del Este in Paraguay and Foz do Iguaçu in Brazil, will have partial traffic interruptions on the nights of Thursday, June 11, and Friday, June 12, for scheduled maintenance work by the Brazilian concessionaire EPR Iguaçu. The work, which involves pavement repairs and lighting system restoration, will take place between 8 p.m. and 5 a.m., a time slot chosen to minimize disruption for the thousands of users who cross the border daily.
This will be the fourth intervention at the site since last year. During the maintenance period, there will be partial closures and a controlled vehicle circulation scheme, adjusted according to the progress of the technical teams. The concessionaire stated that the measure aims to ensure the safety of both drivers and workers involved in the maintenance tasks. Despite the temporary restrictions, the goal is to preserve traffic flow as much as possible, considering the strategic importance of the viaduct for commerce, tourism, and daily travel between the two countries.
The lighting restoration work will also require temporary restrictions for pedestrians, but blockades will only be applied in the area where maintenance equipment is operating, allowing crossing to continue on the opposite side of the structure in both directions. EPR Iguaçu announced it will reinforce temporary signage in all affected sections and that support teams will be responsible for guiding drivers and pedestrians during the execution of the works.
The concessionaire’s executive director, Silvio Caldas, stated that these tasks are part of an ongoing maintenance program aimed at preserving the safety and operational conditions of the infrastructure. According to him, the planning was designed to balance the execution of the works with the need to keep traffic flowing.
The restoration of the lighting system is considered one of the most important actions of the operation, as it will improve visibility and safety conditions at night. The localized pavement repairs aim to fix wear caused by the heavy vehicle flow the structure supports daily. However, the schedule may be subject to change in case of adverse weather conditions, such as heavy rain that could compromise operational safety.
Inaugurated on March 27, 1965, by Presidents Alfredo Stroessner of Paraguay and Humberto de Alencar Castelo Branco of Brazil, the Friendship Bridge was the first permanent land link between the two countries. Measuring 552 meters long and about 78 meters high above the Paraná River, the structure transformed the former Puerto Presidente Stroessner—now Ciudad del Este—into one of the region’s main commercial centers and established itself as one of the busiest border crossings in Latin America.