The avenue begins on the National Congress of Brazil building and is considered part of the DF-002 road.

It is 16 kilometers long, beginning at the Rodoferroviária de Brasília, and ending at the Praça dos Três Poderes.

It was created by Lúcio Costa during the construction of Brasília's Plano Piloto, connecting with the Highway Axis (Portuguese: Eixo Rodoviário) at the Pilot Plan Bus Station.

However, the street has been featured in the Guinness Book of Records as having the widest median strip of a highway in the world.

On April 21, 2008, a year before they formally broke up, the Mexican pop group RBD performed a free concert to a crowd of 500,000 on the Monumental Axis[4] during Empezar Desde Cero Tour 2008.