Brazilian Highway System
The Brazilian Highway System (Portuguese: Sistema Nacional de Rodovias) is a network of trunk roads administered by the Ministry of Transport of Brazil.
The National Travel System (Portuguese: Sistema Nacional de Viação – SNV) comprises the road infrastructure and the operational structure of the different means of transporting people and goods.
The main road axes also have problems because they often have inadequate geometry and constructive characteristics that don't allow quality long-distance flow (non-interference from local traffic and high speed).
The Brazilian State, despite some planning efforts, has been guided by a reactive action to the increase in demand (only duplicating some roads with old and inadequate layout) and not by a purposeful vision, directing occupation and economic density in the territory.
For comparative purposes, the average investment of the USA and the European Union was 1% between 1995 and 2013, even though they already have a much more advanced road infrastructure than Brazil.
BR-040 is the modern way of the so-called "Caminho Novo", opened in the 18th century that linked Ouro Preto, the main center of gold mines of Minas Gerais to the Rio de Janeiro harbor.
Goiás is one of the largest national producers of sugarcane, soy, corn and tomatoes, in addition to having a large cattle ranching.
The highway also drains the gigantic production of coffee from Minas Gerais and orange juice from São Paulo.
Goiás and Mato Grosso do Sul also have considerable mineral exploration, producing a lot of iron ore, nickel and copper, in addition to gold, manganese and niobium.
Used both by tourists who explore the coast, and for the transport of local and regional road loads such as those destined for or coming from ports and industries.
Cities where the BR-101 runs or passes by: Natal, João Pessoa, Olinda, Recife, Maceió, Aracaju, Feira de Santana, Itabuna, Ilhéus, Porto Seguro, Linhares, Vitória, Guarapari, Niterói, Rio de Janeiro, Barra Mansa, Santos, Curitiba, Joinville, Florianópolis, Criciúma, Osório.
Numerous parts of the long path taken by the BR-116 have other official names, such as Régis Bittencourt, Presidente Dutra, Santos Dumont, among others.
[33] Cities where the BR-116 runs or passes by: Fortaleza, Salgueiro, Feira de Santana, Vitória da Conquista, Teófilo Otoni, Governador Valadares, Rio de Janeiro, Volta Redonda, São José dos Campos, São Paulo, Curitiba, Lages, Caxias do Sul, Canoas, Porto Alegre, Pelotas.
It passes through the states of Pará, Tocantins, Goiás, Minas Gerais (Triângulo Mineiro region), São Paulo, Paraná, Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul.
The highway works as an important channel for the flow of agricultural production (mainly soy, corn, sugar cane, cotton and tomato) and livestock (mainly beef and pork) in the Midwest, transports milk production from Minas Gerais and coffee from São Paulo, and agricultural products (rice, wheat, barley, soybeans, corn, grapes, apples, oats), livestock (chicken, pork, fish, and milk) and industrial (furniture, footwear, textiles, machinery, etc.)
The highway is of great economic importance for both Brazil and Paraguay, as it connects the Brazil-Paraguay border to the Port of Paranaguá (which exits into the Atlantic Ocean).
For Paraguay, BR-277 is also of economical significance as it has a direct connection with Asunción through Route PY-02 and serves as an exit to the Atlantic Ocean.
[35][36][37][38][39] Major Brazilian cities connected by BR-277 are Foz do Iguaçu, Medianeira, Cascavel, Guarapuava, Ponta Grossa, Curitiba, and Paranaguá.
[40][41] This highway is of extreme economical importance as it is used to transport products from agriculture, livestock and industry from the states of Paraná to São Paulo and vice versa - for example, soy, corn, coffee, beef, paper and cellulose, wood, furniture and other important products in the region.
[45] The road connects the cities of Garuva, in the state of Santa Catarina, to Dourados, Mato Grosso do Sul.
[46] The road is very important to transport agricultural, livestock and industrial products from the states of Paraná and Mato Grosso do Sul.
As some examples, we have soy, corn, coffee, beef, paper and cellulose, wood, furniture and other important products.
