BR-010 . The BR-010 is a radial highway that connects the national capital
Brasília, to the city of
Belém, in the state of
Pará. It has the official name of Rodovia Bernardo Sayão (the name of its chief engineer, who died in an accident during the construction of the highway, when a tree fell on him), and is also called
Belém–Brasília Highway or as Transbrasiliana Highway, in the stretch between the city of
Estreito, in the state of
Maranhão, and the city of Belém. This is due to the fact that between Brasília and Estreito, the highway has many incomplete and unpaved stretches, especially in the state of
Tocantins. Between Brasília and Estreito, the original route of the Belém-Brasília Highway follows the
BR-060, the
BR-153 and the
BR-226 highways, which are completely paved in this stretch. The BR-010 passes through the
Federal District, and the states of
Goiás,
Tocantins,
Maranhão and
Pará.
BR-020 . The BR-020 connects
Fortaleza in
Ceará to the federal capital
Brasília. Like other BRs that start with the number 0, it leaves Brasília to an extreme point in Brazil. The highway is important because passes through the MATOPIBA region (in the south of Piauí and in the west of Bahia), which is an important producer of
soybeans,
corn and
cotton, among other products. It connects the interior of the Northeast to the Port of Mucuripe, in Fortaleza.
BR-040 . BR-040 runs radially from near the national capital Brasília (beginning 100 km south of the beginning of BR-050, in Brasília), in a northwest–southeast way, to Rio de Janeiro city. 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. In 1861 the road was paved from
Petrópolis to
Juiz de Fora, becoming the first road paved in Latin America until the 1920s. In 1928, Petrópolis was connected to Rio de Janeiro with a paved road. In the 1930s the route was changed to pass by the new capital of Minas Gerais,
Belo Horizonte, although it was unpaved until 1957, when the road was extended to Brasília, the new capital of Brazil. From 1951 to 1973 BR-040 was called BR-3 and was famous for its dangerous bends, such as the Viaduto das Almas, near Belo Horizonte, disabled in 2010. In the 1970s the part from Rio de Janeiro to Juiz de Fora was modernized and became a two-laned road. Cities where the BR-040 runs or passes by:
Luislândia, Belo Horizonte, Juiz de Fora, Rio de Janeiro.
BR-050 and
Minas Gerais BR-050 runs radially from the national capital, Brasília, in a north–south way, to Santos city, passing in São Paulo. It's one of the most important highways in the country: being close to being fully duplicated in 2021, it passes through some of the richest regions of Brazil. It links areas of large agricultural and industrial production to
Port of Santos, the largest in the country. Brasília is the city with the highest average salary per inhabitant. Goiás is one of the largest national producers of sugarcane, soy, corn and tomatoes, in addition to having a large cattle ranching. The area between Uberaba and Uberlândia, in Minas Gerais, has the largest milk production in Brazil. The state of São Paulo holds 30% of Brazil's industrial GDP and a gigantic agricultural sector. In Ribeirão Preto there is the largest production of sugarcane in the world. In Franca, there is the largest national production of men's shoes. The highway also drains the gigantic production of coffee from Minas Gerais and orange juice from São Paulo. In the area around Campinas there is a great technological production. 40% of the cars produced in the country come from the cities of Greater São Paulo. Not to mention the production of chicken meat and all industrial production in São Paulo, which is basically exported via Santos.
BR-060 This road connects
Brasília to
Bela Vista, on the
Paraguayan border. The highway is important because helps in the flow of agricultural production in the Center-West Region, which specializes in: soybeans, corn, sugarcane, tomatoes, beans, in the planting of eucalyptus for the production of cellulose and paper, and in cattle raising. 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. The BR-060 will in the future serve as a link with the Bioceanic Corridor that is being built with 3 other South American countries, connecting Campo Grande to Antofagasta, passing through Paraguay, northern Argentina and northern Chile.
BR-101 .
BR-101 runs in a north–south way, along Brazil's eastern coast. It is Brazil's second major highway, and the longest in the country (nearly long). It connects more states capitals than any other "rodovia" in the country, in the total, 12 capitals are directly connected by BR-101. It's considered one of the most important highways in the country, along with BR-116: as it is a highway with a trans-coastal nature, it allows the connection between ports, major consumer centers and tourist areas. 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. The
Rio–Niterói Bridge is part of the BR-101. 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.
BR-116 . BR-116 runs in a north–south way, near, but not on Brazil's coastline. It is considered one of the most important highways in the country, along with
BR-101. It's also the second longest of the country, although, in practice, it is currently the one with the greatest extension built (). The highway is one of the main connections for the transport of loads, receiving thousands of trucks every day. 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. 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.
BR-153 ,
Rio Grande do Sul. Also known as Transbrasiliana Highway, as
Belém–Brasília Highway or even as Bernardo Sayão Highway, the BR-153 is one of the longest highways in South America and runs in the north–south direction, connecting the city of
Marabá, in the state of
Pará, and the city of
Aceguá, in the boundary with
Uruguay. 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 BR-153 is one of the main highways of the central region of Brazil, mainly in the states of Goiás and Tocantins, and also in the
Triângulo Mineiro region. 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.) of the Southern region.
BR-277 BR-277 runs east–west, starting from the
Friendship Bridge, which connects Brazilian city
Foz do Iguaçu to Paraguayan
Ciudad del Este, and going up to the port city of
Paranaguá. It is approximately 650 km long. 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). It is one of the most important highways in the Southern Region of Brazil, as it connects Curitiba (the capital city of the state of
Paraná and the third highest city GDP in Brazil) to the city of Paranaguá and to the international border city of Foz de Iguaçu, one of the most-frequented touristic destinations in Brazil (mainly due to border trade, to the presence of the Iguaçu Falls and the
Itaipu Dam). In Paraná, there is a large production of soybeans, corn, chicken, milk, cellulose and fish, among other products, which are exported through the Port of Paranaguá (among other international connections). 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. On the Brazil-Paraguay border there is intense trade between the two countries. and Paraguay uses the port to carry out part of its exports through the Atlantic Ocean. Major Brazilian cities connected by BR-277 are
Foz do Iguaçu,
Medianeira,
Cascavel,
Guarapuava,
Ponta Grossa,
Curitiba, and
Paranaguá. and
Londrina,
Paraná.
BR-369 BR-369 begins in
Oliveira,
Minas Gerais and ends in
Cascavel in the state of
Paraná. 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. It also connects the western states of Paraná and São Paulo to
Paraguay. Paraguay imports most of the products it consumes from Brazil (one of the main promoters of the Paraguayan economy). Therefore, trade and tourism with Paraguay are strong in the region.
Foz do Iguaçu and
Ciudad del Este benefit directly from the highway.
BR-376 The road connects the cities of
Garuva, in the state of
Santa Catarina, to
Dourados,
Mato Grosso do Sul. It has a length of 958,3 km. 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. in the region.
BR-386 . This highway connects Canoas (in the metropolitan region of Porto Alegre, capital of the state of Rio Grande do Sul) with the municipality of Iraí (in the extreme northwest of the state, on the border with Santa Catarina). It's called the Production Highway due to its high importance for the state. Through it all the production of soy, corn, wheat, meat, wood, furniture, among other products of the region is drained. In the city of
Ametista do Sul, close to Iraí, there is the largest production of amethyst in the world. Close to
Lajeado is one of the largest productions of
tobacco on the planet. In Santa Catarina, the highway ends near
Chapecó, the largest regional hub in the west of the state. In general, cities with significant GDP are on the side of the highway. == References ==