given to religious Benedictines, who settled only in the neighborhoods of Camorim, Vargem Pequena, and Vargem Grande. In 1900, the lands of Barra da Tijuca and Baixada Jacarepaguá were sold to the company Remedial Territorial Agricultural and SA, ESTA, which remains a large land owner in the area. The concentration of large tracts of land in the hands of a few was one of the causes of its late growth. Additionally it is separated from the rest of the municipality by large, difficult-to-cross mountain ranges with peaks ranging from 800–1200 meters. Development of the area took place initially on its two ends, in current Jardim Oceânico and in Recreio dos Bandeirantes. A bridge was then built by private initiative over the Tijuca Lagoon to serve the area's new inhabitants. Significant early development of Barra da Tijuca occurred during the administration of Governor Negrão de Lima, the former governor of the state of Guanabara, who commissioned Lúcio Costa, one of the region's urban designers. The plan for Barra in 1969 was similar to the earlier one for Brasília. It was inspired by American urban planning style with wide boulevards and large open spaces. In the 1970s the Lagoa–Barra Highway was built, which allowed a greater development since it reduced the time to go to the South Zone of the city of Rio. At the same time, large planned condominiums were developed in Barra, such as the condominiums Nova Ipanema and Novo Leblon. In the 1990s, another large urban development that enabled better connection with the North Zone of Rio was the creation of the Yellow Line, an expressway linking Barra da Tijuca to the Galeão International Airport. Since then, the growth of Barra da Tijuca has been characterized by large inflows of people from all parts of the metropolitan region of Rio de Janeiro. Barra City's Project During the 1980s, Barra da Tijuca experienced a population explosion, with virtually all the land along its boulevards occupied by large residential condominiums, parks, supermarkets, shopping malls, schools and hospitals. The avenues were widened and received traffic lights. At this time there was a movement for the declaration of Barra as a separate city; While there was a referendum to this effect, and a majority of voters voted to make it a separate city, turnout was too low for it to succeed. There is still a bill in progress in the Legislative Assembly of