BR-163 is a
highway
A highway is any public or private road or other public way on land. It includes not just major roads, but also other public roads and rights of way. In the United States, it is also used as an equivalent term to controlled-access highway, or ...
in
Brazil
Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...
, going from
Tenente Portela, in the state of
Rio Grande do Sul
Rio Grande do Sul (, ; ; "Great River of the South") is a Federative units of Brazil, state in the South Region, Brazil, southern region of Brazil. It is the Federative units of Brazil#List, fifth-most populous state and the List of Brazilian s ...
, to
Santarém,
Pará
Pará () is a Federative units of Brazil, state of Brazil, located in northern Brazil and traversed by the lower Amazon River. It borders the Brazilian states of Amapá, Maranhão, Tocantins (state), Tocantins, Mato Grosso, Amazonas (Brazilian st ...
, on 3579 kilometers (the stretch between Santarem and
Brazil-Suriname border is only a project, the highway would have a total size of 4,426.7 km if it were all implemented). It was proposed to pave the road in its entirety part of the Avança Brasil project, which in 2007 was replaced by the Programa de Aceleração do Crescimento. A 51 km long stretch of the highway was finally paved in 2019 in the state of Pará in a cooperation between the
Bolsonaro government and the
Brazilian army engineering battalion, until the city of
Miritituba, leaving only a small part of the highway to be paved on the other side of the
Amazon River.
Since the construction in 1976, most of the highway was not paved in the state of Pará, with most of the asphalt existing only from the urban area of Santarém to the city of
Rurópolis. Because of this, the stretches of beaten ground turned into big puddles in times of rain, hindering the flow of agricultural crops from the region.
It's a highway that integrates the South with the Midwest and North of Brazil. It's of fundamental importance for the flow of production from Pará and north of the Midwest Region of Brazil. The connection between the Mato Grosso-Pará border and the ports in the Santarém area, on the Amazon River, is about 1000 km apart, so the middle and north of Mato Grosso will have advantages in exporting its enormous agricultural and livestock production through this path, instead of the Port of Santos, which is 2000 km from this area.
In March 2016, 117 km of highway was duplicated between Rondonópolis and the border with the state of Mato Grosso do Sul.
In the state of Mato Grosso, the Federal Government has been doubling the road between the cities of
Cuiabá
Cuiabá () is the capital city and the largest city of the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso. It is located near the geographical centre of South America and also forms the metropolitan area of Mato Grosso, along with the neighbouring town of Várz ...
and
Rondonópolis
Rondonópolis (formerly known as Rio Vermelho (Red River)) is the third-largest Municipalities of Brazil, municipality in Mato Grosso, Brazil. It is located around from Cuiabá, the capital of the state. The city is named for military officer and ...
, a stretch of 191 km. At the end of 2018, the duplication of the section between the cities of Cuiabá and Jaciara, about 100 kilometers, was inaugurated. As of March 2019, there were already 151 duplicate km, and the forecast for completion of work was 2020.
In Mato Grosso do Sul, the highway has a fundamental role in commerce, tourism and mainly in the transport logistics of the
agribusiness
Agribusiness is the industry, enterprises, and the field of study of value chains in agriculture and in the bio-economy,
in which case it is also called bio-business or bio-enterprise.
The primary goal of agribusiness is to maximize profit ...
, as it's the main export corridor in the state to reach the ports of the states of São Paulo, Paraná and Santa Catarina. The highway is extremely important for states like Mato Grosso, the largest producer of grains in the country (the state is the largest producer of soybeans, corn, cotton, the third largest producer of beans, and the sixth largest producer of sugar cane). of the country), in addition to having the largest herd of cattle in the country, more than 30 million head of cattle, which represents almost 14% of the national production alone.
For this reason, the construction, paving, and development of this highway has induced deforestation, by enabling the conversion of forested land for agricultural purposes. As in other places, road development enables land use change, contributing to a new spatial order, enabling commercial and market-driven land uses.
In the state of
Paraná the highway passes through important cities like Cascavel and Toledo. In 2020 there was a 74 km stretch between
Cascavel
Cascavel is a city in the state of Paraná (state), Paraná in Brazil. It is the fifth most populous city in the state with 364.104 inhabitants, according to IBGE 2024 estimate. The distance to Curitiba, the state capital, is 491 kilometers b ...
and
Marmelândia being duplicated.
Dnit investe R$ 580 milhões na duplicação na BR-163, no Paraná
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In the state of Santa Catarina the highway gains the status of a road center for transporting agricultural production, most notably from São Miguel do Oeste
São Miguel do Oeste is a Brazilian municipality in the state of Santa Catarina (state), Santa Catarina, in the southern region of Brazil, 655 km from the state capital, Florianópolis. Its population in 2022, according to the Brazilian Institute o ...
.
Gallery
BR 163 Cuiabá-Rondonópolis duplicada.jpg, BR-163 / 364, duplicate section between Cuiabá
Cuiabá () is the capital city and the largest city of the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso. It is located near the geographical centre of South America and also forms the metropolitan area of Mato Grosso, along with the neighbouring town of Várz ...
and Rondonópolis
Rondonópolis (formerly known as Rio Vermelho (Red River)) is the third-largest Municipalities of Brazil, municipality in Mato Grosso, Brazil. It is located around from Cuiabá, the capital of the state. The city is named for military officer and ...
BR-163 duplicada Cuiabá Rondonópolis.jpg, BR-163 / 364, duplicate section between Cuiabá
Cuiabá () is the capital city and the largest city of the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso. It is located near the geographical centre of South America and also forms the metropolitan area of Mato Grosso, along with the neighbouring town of Várz ...
and Rondonópolis
Rondonópolis (formerly known as Rio Vermelho (Red River)) is the third-largest Municipalities of Brazil, municipality in Mato Grosso, Brazil. It is located around from Cuiabá, the capital of the state. The city is named for military officer and ...
BR-163 MS.jpg, BR-163, duplicate stretch in Mato Grosso do Sul
Mato Grosso do Sul ( ) is one of Federative units of Brazil, Brazil's 27 federal units, located in the southern part of the Central-West Region, Brazil, Central-West Region, bordering five Brazilian states: Mato Grosso (to the north), Goiás and ...
BR-163 trecho duplicado Mato Grosso do Sul.jpg, BR-163, duplicate stretch in Mato Grosso do Sul
Mato Grosso do Sul ( ) is one of Federative units of Brazil, Brazil's 27 federal units, located in the southern part of the Central-West Region, Brazil, Central-West Region, bordering five Brazilian states: Mato Grosso (to the north), Goiás and ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Br-163
Federal highways in Brazil
Campo Grande