The Rodovia Anchieta is a major pride of the Brazilian engineering, because it was built with a great number of bridges and tunnels along the steep cliffs of the Serra do Mar; and the first modern, concrete-paved road built in São Paulo in the 1930s.

Its north lane was inaugurated on Tuesday, 22 April 1947, and its south on Thursday, 9 July 1953.

Traffic problems are common, mainly if there is bad weather or in long weekends when many families living in São Paulo go to Santos or Guarujá beaches.

The highway is managed by a state concession to the private company Ecovias, and therefore is a toll road.

In the unidirectional mode, the opposing traffic is diverted to the Rodovia dos Imigrantes.