The Municipality of São Paulo has opened the financial proposal submitted for the completion of the long-delayed Sena Madureira–Ricardo Jafet road tunnel project, a scheme intended to improve traffic circulation in the southern zone of Brazil’s largest city.

The bid, valued at R$622 million, was presented by the Expresso Sena Madureira–Klabin Consortium and is currently under technical and financial review by the municipal administration before a final contract award decision is made.

The project forms part of a broader effort to improve mobility across the Vila Mariana–Ipiranga corridor, a heavily trafficked section of the city connecting residential neighbourhoods with major employment centres.

Municipal authorities estimate that the completed road link could benefit more than 800,000 commuters per day, improving travel times between districts including Vila Mariana, Saúde, Ipiranga, Itaim Bibi and Morumbi.

Road Tunnel Scheme

The project involves the construction of two parallel road tunnels with a combined length of approximately 1.6 km, designed to connect Avenida Sena Madureira with Avenida Doutor Ricardo Jafet, one of the main radial routes serving southern São Paulo.

The underground section would allow traffic to bypass a series of heavily congested surface intersections and traffic signals that currently slow movement through the area.

The scheme forms part of the Complexo Viário Sena Madureira, a road improvement programme aimed at providing a direct underground link between the Vila Mariana district and the major urban transport corridor around Avenida Ricardo Jafet, which connects with routes leading towards Rodovia dos Imigrantes, the principal highway linking São Paulo to the coastal port region.

In addition to the tunnel excavation works, the project includes associated road infrastructure, access ramps, drainage systems, ventilation installations, and urban surface improvements.

Restarting a Suspended Project

The tunnel project has been under discussion for more than a decade and has faced several interruptions since its initial launch.

Earlier construction works were halted following investigations into irregularities associated with the original contract. The municipality subsequently cancelled the previous agreement and initiated a new procurement process to complete the infrastructure.

The consortium currently presenting the proposal includes Álya Construtora, the successor company to the contractor previously involved in the scheme.

If approved, the new contract would allow the city to resume construction activities and complete a partially implemented project that has remained inactive for several years.

Urban and Environmental Context

Like many major urban infrastructure projects in São Paulo, the Sena Madureira tunnel scheme has generated debate regarding its wider impacts on the surrounding neighbourhoods.

Local residents have raised concerns relating to tree removal, drainage conditions, and the potential relocation of nearby communities located close to the proposed alignment.

The Souza Ramos and Luiz Alves communities, located near the project corridor, have been identified as areas potentially affected by the development, with discussions ongoing regarding possible relocation measures for residents.

Environmental issues have also been raised in legal proceedings. In 2024, a court temporarily suspended construction following a request from the Public Prosecutor’s Office citing concerns over environmental impacts and vegetation removal in the project area.

Municipal authorities maintain that the project remains an important component of the city’s transport strategy and that mitigation measures are being incorporated into the engineering design.

Strategic Mobility Infrastructure

São Paulo, a metropolitan region of more than 20 million inhabitants, faces significant challenges related to traffic congestion and urban mobility. Large-scale road infrastructure projects remain an important part of efforts to improve connectivity between districts and reduce pressure on existing arterial routes.

Within this context, the Sena Madureira–Ricardo Jafet tunnel is considered a strategic link in the city’s road network, aimed at improving traffic flow across the southern sector of the capital.

The final decision on the consortium’s proposal will determine whether the project can move forward after years of delay and controversy.

If approved, the development would represent a significant urban tunnelling project within one of Latin America’s largest metropolitan areas, illustrating both the opportunities and complexities associated with constructing underground transport infrastructure in dense urban environments.

Technical Considerations: Geology, Construction Methods and Urban Constraints

Although detailed construction specifications for the Sena Madureira–Ricardo Jafet tunnel have not yet been released, previous tunnelling projects in São Paulo provide insight into the likely technical challenges associated with the scheme.

Geological Conditions

The São Paulo metropolitan region sits largely within the São Paulo sedimentary basin, where underground construction frequently encounters residual tropical soils, saprolite and weathered crystalline rock derived from the underlying Precambrian basement.

These materials are typically highly heterogeneous, with layers of clay, sand and weathered rock often occurring within the same tunnel face. Such variability can significantly influence excavation stability and groundwater behaviour.

A common characteristic of these tropical residual soils is high porosity and deformability, meaning tunnelling can induce notable ground deformation if not properly controlled.

This geotechnical context requires careful monitoring and support design, particularly in shallow urban tunnels where surface settlements may affect nearby buildings and infrastructure.

Likely Excavation Methods

In urban tunnelling projects in São Paulo, two main construction approaches have historically been used depending on alignment geometry, ground conditions and tunnel diameter:

Sequential Excavation Method (SEM/NATM)
Many shallow urban tunnels in the city have been constructed using the New Austrian Tunnelling Method (NATM), which involves staged excavation and immediate support installation using sprayed concrete linings, lattice girders and rock bolts.

Sequential excavation allows engineers to adapt support systems as ground conditions change, which can be particularly beneficial in heterogeneous tropical soils.

Shield TBM Excavation
For longer linear tunnels, Earth Pressure Balance (EPB) Tunnel Boring Machines have also been deployed successfully in São Paulo metro projects. These machines maintain face stability by balancing earth and groundwater pressures during excavation.

EPB technology has been applied in mixed-face conditions involving combinations of residual soil, saprolite and weathered rock.

For the Sena Madureira project—where tunnels will pass beneath a densely developed urban corridor—construction methods will likely prioritise settlement control and minimal disruption to surface traffic and utilities.

Ground Improvement and Support Measures

Urban tunnelling in São Paulo has frequently required a range of ground improvement and stabilization techniques, particularly in near-surface excavations. These may include:

• Pipe roofing or spiling to provide temporary face support
• Jet grouting or ground injection to strengthen weak soils
• Shotcrete primary linings with lattice girders for immediate structural support
• Drainage systems to control groundwater inflow
• Instrumentation and monitoring systems to measure ground movements in real time

These techniques help maintain stability in the often soil–saprolite mixed ground conditions typical of the region.

Settlement Monitoring

Because tunnels in São Paulo are frequently constructed beneath dense residential neighbourhoods and critical infrastructure, extensive monitoring systems are typically installed during construction.

Modern projects have incorporated advanced instrumentation such as inclinometers, fibre-optic monitoring systems and automated displacement sensors to track tunnel convergence and ground movement throughout excavation.

These systems allow engineers to adjust excavation sequences, support stiffness and ground treatment measures in response to observed ground behaviour.

Key Engineering Challenges

For the Sena Madureira–Ricardo Jafet tunnel, the principal technical challenges are expected to include:

• Excavation in heterogeneous tropical soils
• Groundwater management during tunnelling
• Settlement control beneath existing buildings and utilities
• Maintaining traffic flow during construction in a dense urban corridor
• Integration with existing road infrastructure and drainage systems

Successfully addressing these issues will be critical to ensuring the safe delivery of the project and minimizing impacts on surrounding communities. 10/26.