Diario las Américas., 1958-05-27
Know thy
Nei9hboi
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By roN RUIZ

URUGUAY - The Republic of
Uruguay has several waterways,
the most important of which are
the Rio de la Plata and the Uru-
quay River. Together they pro-
vide some 500 of the 700 miles of
navigable rivers available to the
country. Besides Montevideo, other
ports of importance on the estuary
of the Rio de la Plata, are Maldo-
nado, Sauce and Colonia, located
directly across from Buenos Aires,
Argentina, to which it is linked by
a service of ferryboats.
The Uruguay River can take
oc~ean-going vessels of 14-down
draft as far as Paysand1. Beyond
that pont, northward to Salto, the
maximum allowable draft is nine
feet. Immediately above Salto, ra-
pids and falls prevent further
'northward navigation. There are
about ten river ports in the Uru-
quay River. Four of these are spe-
cially important: Nueva Palmira,
Fray Bentos, Paysandd and Salto.
The Rio Negro, emptying into
the Uruguay River, is open to navi-
cation as far as Port Mercedes,
an important railroad terminal.
About two thousand miles of
railroads leaving from Montevideo
and extending to the north to- all
parts of the country, are of stand
ard gauge track. They connect
Montevideo with the interior cities
of Fray Bentos, Mercedes, Pay
sandu, Salto, Melo, Treinta y Tres,
Colonia, Durazno, and nearly every
other Uruguayan city of import
ance. At four points on the Dor.
der of Brazil they connect with
railroads of that country. This
makes it possible to go by rail
from Montevideo to the Brazilian
cities of Sac Paulo, Rio de janet.
70 and Santos. There are five i'm.
portant railroad systems in Uru-
quay, and they are State owned.
One has been operated for a long
time by the State Railway and
Streetcar Administration. The 9TH
er four were privately owned but
under Government control, until
their recent purchase.
The Uruguayan Central runs
right across the country from Mon.
tevideo on the south, to Rivera,
on the Brazilian border. An ex-
tension of this railroad runs west
ward from Montevideo to Merce-
DIES, on the Rio Negro. Another
runs to Colonia, on the Rio de la
Plata, while a third extension, run
ming in a northeasterly direction,
connects Montevideo with Treinta
y Tres and Melo. The State Rail.
roads operate eastward from
Montevideo to Rocha and Maldo-
nado, both resort cities. They also
connect Florida with Sarandi and
Treinta y Tres with Rio Branco,
and have several other shorter
lines in the interior.
Uruguay has some of South
Americas best paved highways.
The finest road in the country
runs from Montevideo to Colonia,
a distance of 112 miles. This was
built of reinforced concrete and
was opened in 1884. Together with
the ferry service from Colonia to
Buenos Aires, it provides a quick
communication with the Argentine
capital.
Like the railroads, the highways
radiate from the capital to the
principal cities of the interior,
reaching the Brazilian frontier
at various points not served by
rail. The best roads are in the
south, tanning out from Montevi.
dec. Good highways line the entire
southern waterfront and facilitate
the increasing flow Of traffic be-
tween Montevideo and NUMEROUS
popular resorts along the estuary
OF Rio de la Plata.
Spanish Version Page 3