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Smooth Asphalt in the City Center: Presidente Vargas Avenue is already undergoing maintenance.
Published on 26/03/2026 - 12:51 | Updated on 26/03/2026 - 14:40
In addition to Avenida Presidente Vargas, 37 other streets in the city center will receive maintenance - Press Release The Rio de Janeiro City Hall began, this Thursday (March 26th), another stage of the Smooth Asphalt Program, this time on the central lane of Avenida Presidente Vargas, in the city center, in a six-kilometer stretch. The Smooth Asphalt Program is a public policy created to act preventively and recover the pavement of public roads and reduce the need for emergency interventions.
— When there's good management, the works continue and the city progresses. And the smooth asphalt is an example of that. Last Sunday, we started in the Tijuca region, along Mariz e Barros"And now we're starting in the city center. It's six kilometers of smooth asphalt on Presidente Vargas Avenue, and it will take four to five months to pave it all. Obviously, if we do it during business hours, there will be traffic, chaos. So, the works will always take place from 22 pm to 5 am to avoid traffic and make life easier for those coming to the city center," said the mayor of Rio, Eduardo Cavaliere.
The third phase of the program began on Sunday (March 22nd) and will invest more than R$ 1 billion in 2026 to revitalize 552 streets in all areas of the city, between 2026 and 2028. Tijuca, Centro and Zona Sul will be the first regions to receive the program.
Smooth Asphalt is coming to the city center for the main thoroughfare in the region, with milling services to remove the worn pavement, followed by the application of a new layer of asphalt. In addition to Presidente Vargas Avenue, another 37 streets in the city center will be included in the project by July. To minimize traffic impact, teams will work at night, between 22 PM and 5 AM. Completion is expected within three months.
"The last time this area was paved was in 2010. We started the operation on the central lane this morning, with milling, which is removing the asphalt that has been worn down for 16 years, and laying new pavement," said the Secretary of Conservation, Diego Vaz.
The Department of Conservation also maintains ongoing street maintenance, with daily services such as pothole repair, correction of subsidence, and asphalt resurfacing.
