Favourite picture: “Via Verde” – motorway construction in Brazil

Huge distances, unfavourable weather conditions and a wet clay ground that is particularly ill-suited to road construction. The “Via Verde” connects Cruzeiro do Sul with São Paulo 4000 kilometres away. The Axor and Atron were pushed to their limits building this motorway. “For example, the gravel that I am driving here comes from a quarry 700 kilometres away”, reports Francineudo Freitas da Silva, sitting at the wheel of his Axor. “And the same goes for just about everything: hardly anything is available locally, meaning that it first has to be brought in. And this needs to be done now, during the dry season! It rains too much between November and May. It is then no longer possible to get through.”

Even during the dry season, the drivers always have one eye on the sky. Even 15 minutes of rain can make the makeshift road impassable, often for the rest of the day. Everyone is always working under high pressure. High requirements for both people and material. “I have been driving this road for 16 years now, always in a Mercedes-Benz truck: the 1113, 1313, 1620 and 1935”, says Francineudo. “Mercedes-Benz trucks are the only ones that can withstand the conditions here!”

Photos: Gleice Mere

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