Rodovia Presidente Dutra

[[Image:SP-RJ.JPG|thumb|250px|Border between [[Rio de Janeiro (state)|Rio de Janeiro]] and [[São Paulo (state)|São Paulo]] states. The sign reads "Welcome to São Paulo".]] The '''Rodovia Presidente Dutra''', ('''BR-116''' – '''SP-60'''), colloquially known as '''Via Dutra''' is a federal highway which runs through the eastern part of the [[São Paulo (state)|state of São Paulo]] and southwestern region of the [[Rio de Janeiro (state)|state Rio de Janeiro]]. It is the part of BR-116 connecting the [[São Paulo (city)|city of São Paulo]] to the [[Rio de Janeiro (city)|city of Rio de Janeiro]]. Major cities connected by this part of BR-116 are the [[São Paulo (city)|city of São Paulo]], [[Jacareí]], [[São José dos Campos]], [[Taubaté]], [[Pindamonhangaba]], [[Guaratinguetá]], [[Resende, Rio de Janeiro|Resende]], [[Barra Mansa]], [[Volta Redonda]] and the [[Rio de Janeiro (city)|city of Rio de Janeiro]]. It covers a total distance of {{convert|402|km}}, starting at the Trevo das Margaridas in Rio de Janeiro and ending at the junction with Marginal Tietê in São Paulo. It merges with [[Rodovia Ayrton Senna]] in the county of Guararema and has junctions with [[Rodovia Fernão Dias]], BR-354 and BR-459. The highway largely follows the [[Paraíba do Sul]] river valley. Via Dutra is considered the most important Brazilian highway since it connects the two biggest and most important cities of [[Brazil]] and runs through one of the richest regions of the country, the [[Vale do Paraíba|Paraíba Valley]]. It is also the most important connection between the [[Southern Region, Brazil|Southern Region]] and the [[Northeast Region, Brazil|Northeast Region]]. == History == The first road between the [[São Paulo (city)|city of São Paulo]] and the [[Rio de Janeiro (city)|city of Rio de Janeiro]] was built by the Washington Luis government and inaugurated on May 5, 1928. At the end of the 1940s industrialization and the necessity of a faster, safer and more efficient and modern road connection of the two biggest Brazilian cities led to the construction of the Rodovia Presidente Dutra as it is known today. It was inaugurated on January 19, 1951 by the President Eurico Gaspar Dutra and called BR-2. It was a two-lane road with exception of the stretches between São Paulo and Guarulhos and in the [[Baixada Fluminense]] where it was a four-lane dual carriageway. In the 1960s it had various stretches converted to four-lane divided road. In 1967 it was fully upgraded to four-lane highway status. In the 1970s traffic has been eased on the Via Dutra due to the construction of the Rodovia dos Trabalhadores, now called [[Rodovia Ayrton Senna]] and its part built in the 1990s called [[Rodovia Governador Carvalho Pinto]] leading up to [[Taubaté]]. The highway is managed and maintained by a state concession to the private company NovaDutra S/A since March 1996, and therefore is a toll road. From that transfer of ownership up to today it has largely improved in road quality and safety. == External links == * [http://www.novadutra.com.br/concessionaria/home/ NovaDutra S/A] {{Brazil-road-stub}} {{São Paulo highways}} {{coord missing|Brazil}}