River United Fans: What’s Changing?

The Monumental Stadium It does not stop and will not stop growing in the coming years, and the surroundings of the River field are not being left behind in terms of works and improvements. For a few weeks now, a mega project has been underway in the area of the Labruna Bridge which will bring great benefits to River fans who regularly use the stadium, both for activities during the week or to watch the team on match days.

At the end of this year the project for the new Innovation Bridgehand in hand with the new Innovation Parka work that contemplates a substantial increase in pedestrian and vehicular access, and a growth in green spaces for people.

We spoke exclusively about all these issues with Pablo Bereciartua, Minister of Infrastructure and Mobility of the City of Buenos Aireswho explained in greater depth the objectives of each of the work fronts that are being carried out in the vicinity of the Monumental, and how it will impact not only on match days this year for the fans but also in the future when the entire work is completed.

-What are the essential keys of this work?

–This is a key work in the city of Buenos Aires. We are in the center of the northern corridor, it is one of the most intense corridors we have in terms of mobility, but also in terms of investment and growth. And this work, I would tell you, has three main purposes. The first is that it will allow us to cross the highway, the Cantilo, or the Lugones and the railroad tracks and join the coast. So it will allow us to better unite with Ciudad Universitaria that we have in front of us, with what we call “Young District”, which is Costanera Norte, which is being renovated at the moment and also eventually with the Aeroparque and with the clubswhich now also include River. The second central objective is for the city to have better connectivity with the northern axis. So here this work is going to complete all the ups and downs. And the third is the impact that it will have at the urban level, because the Innovation Park is being created here, in addition to the club and all the life that the club has and in addition to the neighborhoods, mainly Belgrano and Nuñez. It is going to be landscaped, it is going to generate areas for public use, it is going to generate areas that are useful for sports in general, that are useful for coming to the City. Not only are we going to double the road capacity, but we are also going to build a new bridgewhich is a wide, large, pedestrian and cyclist walkway.

-Having a bit of a clean sweep, especially for River fans on game days. At the vehicular level, for example, what is going to be the main impact of the fan who arrives by car to watch a match at the Monumental?

-Many people from the North come to the River field, so we are going to have the exit better resolved and the arrival better resolved. Udaondo will be facing west. Instead of being double-sided as it is now, there will be four sides in the direction of Libertador, and Campos Salles, which we are doing now, will be four sides in the direction of the river. So the first thing I would tell you is that for Those who come by car to the field will be able to get there much better and will be able to leave much better.. The second impact that I think is very important is public transportation, because here we are now going to truly have a large, wide pedestrian bridge so that the railway can be used better to get there, which is key, which is also linked to our Subway network and also so that there can be much better parking on the other side and you can get off and not do as happens now that you only use the two branches that we have, the two lanes of the Labruna, but eventually we will be able to use four branches, plus the pedestrian accesses and cyclists.

–Regarding pedestrians, is the idea that the new bridge doubles the access so that people can walk to the field or is the idea that all vehicular access not be cut off as is currently the case on match or recital days?

-The truth is that we are now working on it. Our goal is that in many of the events that take place, a certain capacity for open mobility remains. We have to really consider the interests of all those who live near the stadium and all those who live in this area and those who also work here, let’s think that eventually here in the Innovation Park we are going to have new universities, for example, we are going to have students, we are going to have teachers, also offices that are going to be added here. There is even a hotel planned, so there is a very important development coming.

-How is the remainder of the work going to impact day-to-day life, especially thinking about match days for people? Could there be any structural change within the lack of work to continue? Any complications?

-There are two pieces of good news: on the one hand we maintain the original dates. We are going to be making partial openings now, in fact we are going to open the branch that goes to Udaondo at the end of February and the return that goes to the north we think about opening it in April, which is quite close, but for the entire work we maintain the dates that we said at the beginning. The complete road part should be completed in October, and the work completed, including the landscaping and urban developments, in December 2026. The vehicular flow on the highways is impossible not to cut at some point, but for that we use the early morning hours, especially to be able to assemble the beams. So I apologize in advance.

-Very recently, River announced what is going to be the new work on the roof of the Monumental, and it generates a lot of enthusiasm for the fans. We know that many permits are needed for what will be, especially the columns that go outside the stadium for what will be the roof. Can you tell us a little more about what that project is going to be like? How did you work together with the City government so that these permits could be approved?

–First I highlight the joint work, there is a very good joint work between the club leadership and us, let’s say, the team that manages the City of Buenos Aires. Part of what we are doing now includes a branch that we are putting on the Highway that will connect the new parking spaces that the field has, that may grow in the future with highways. That will also make the use of the stadium work better, but returning to the point you made, the truth is that there are examples in the world of stadiums that are in urban areas and work well. What we are looking for is to understand that this is a stadium that is in a dense urban area, which is also going to become more densified and then that requires two issues: public and private investment that must continue, for example in aspects such as public transportation and parking. We have to achieve and I believe there is still much to improve in using technology to reduce the impact on the lives of the City’s citizens to the minimum possible.

-And regarding what the new height of the stadium will be with the new tray, did they establish any type of limitation for River taking into account the route of the planes that pass nearby and so on? Are all the plans already approved?

–Yes, the design already respects the regulations that are actually set by the Nation. They are the rregulations established by the organizations that regulate the operation of airports in Argentina, which is the case of Aeroparque. There is what is called an approach cone and of course you cannot interrupt that trajectory but I would tell you that that is resolved. The proposal that River makes is a proposal that fulfills, there is no problem. It seems to me that the great challenge here is to make the investment in the infrastructure that is needed and to continue, and also We will have to finish defining the frequency of events. There have been, in truth, some years with too many events. That is why we have to ensure that they are distributed a little more in the rest of the City’s stadiums.

Summary of the new work of River and the City Government on the Labruna Bridge

• 1 bridge for pedestrians and cyclists.
• 4 restarts.
• Completion date of the road part: October 2026
• Completion date of the total work, with landscaping and urban developments: December 2026.

New accesses, lane by lane

• Northwest Lane: will allow the crossing from the Innovation Park towards Ciudad Universitaria and Av. Cantilo. It will have a two-lane viaduct that crosses over Av. Lugones and Cantilo, and FC Belgrano Norte.
• Southeast Lane: will allow the crossing from Cantilo towards the Innovation Park and the entrance to Av. Lugones from Ciudad Universitaria.
• Lugones Avenue collectors and northern head of the Innovation Park: They will connect Av. Campos Salles with the Northwest Branch, Av. Udaondo and Av. Lugones. A plaza elevated above the collectors and with hierarchical pedestrian and cyclist access will be generated at the northern head through ramps, terraces and stairs.
• Widening and refunctionalization of the Labruna Bridge: The current bridge will be reconfigured by eliminating the current pedestrian walkway that will move over the southeast side of its two one-way lanes and generating a new pedestrian and cyclist crossing by widening the existing deck. In this way, a new connection will be created with the Ciudad Universitaria station of FC Belgrano Norte that will link the Innovation Park with Ciudad Universitaria.

The pedestrian walkway over the bridge can be accessed by pedestrians from 5 points:

• North gate of University City.
• Trail coming from the UBA sports field (subject to approval from said institution).
• Railway platforms (Ciudad Universitaria station of FC Belgrano Norte).
• Campos Salles Boulevard.
• Of. Udaondo.