The Rodovia dos Imigrantes (official designation SP-160) is a highway in the state of

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaWC a ...

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

. The highway connects the city of

to the Atlantic coast and with the seaside cities of São Vicente and

Praia Grande Praia Grande () is a municipality in the state of São Paulo in Brazil. It is part of the Metropolitan Region of Baixada Santista. The population is 330,845 (2020 est.) in an area of 149.25 km². Population history History Although t ...

. It follows the route of the

Rodovia Anchieta The Rodovia Anchieta (Anchieta Highway, official designation SP-150) is a highway connection between São Paulo and the Atlantic coast, the cities of Cubatão and Santos, in Brazil. In the plateau, the highway serves several cities of Greater S ...

and is also one of Brazil's busiest highways, especially on weekends. The Rodovia dos Imigrantes has 44

viaduct A viaduct is a specific type of bridge that consists of a series of arches, piers or columns supporting a long elevated railway or road. Typically a viaduct connects two points of roughly equal elevation, allowing direct overpass across a wide v ...

s, seven bridges, and 11 tunnels, along its 58.5 km stretch. The highway has recently been expanded, in one of the most audacious feats of Brazilian

highway engineering Highway engineering is an engineering discipline branching from civil engineering that involves the planning, design, construction, operation, and maintenance of roads, bridges, and tunnels to ensure safe and effective transportation of people and ...

, with extremely long

tunnel A tunnel is an underground passageway, dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, and enclosed except for the entrance and exit, commonly at each end. A pipeline is not a tunnel, though some recent tunnels have used immersed tube cons ...

s and high strutting six-lane

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

s constructed over the tropical

rain forest Rainforests are characterized by a closed and continuous tree canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforest can be classified as tropical rainforest or temperate rainforest ...

, which covers the steep faces of the

Serra do Mar The Serra do Mar (, Portuguese for ''Sea's Ridge'' or ''Sea Ridge'') is a 1,500 km long system of mountain ranges and escarpments in Southeastern Brazil. Geography The Serra do Mar runs parallel to the Atlantic Ocean coast from the state ...

, the

cliff In geography and geology, a cliff is an area of rock which has a general angle defined by the vertical, or nearly vertical. Cliffs are formed by the processes of weathering and erosion, with the effect of gravity. Cliffs are common on co ...

range that separates the São Paulo

plateau In geology and physical geography, a plateau (; ; ), also called a high plain or a tableland, is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain that is raised sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side. Often one or more sides ha ...

from the seaside lowlands. During sunny weekends, more than one million automobiles commonly cross its near 60 km run, separating the city of São Paulo from the sea. The Rodovia dos Imigrantes was inaugurated on Monday, 28 June 1976, by President

Ernesto Geisel Ernesto Beckmann Geisel (, ; 3 August 1907 – 12 September 1996) was a Brazilian Army officer and politician, who was List of Presidents of Brazil, President of Brazil from 1974 to 1979, during the Brazilian military regime. Early life and fa ...

, due to traffic saturation on

. Although longer than the Anchieta, the Imigrantes is nowadays busier due to its building standards, which permit higher

speed limit Speed limits on road traffic, as used in most countries, set the legal maximum speed at which vehicles may travel on a given stretch of road. Speed limits are generally indicated on a traffic sign reflecting the maximum permitted speed - expres ...

s, and its more direct path to the cities of Santos and

Guarujá Guarujá (; ) is a municipality in the São Paulo state of Brazil. It is part of the Metropolitan Region of Baixada Santista. The population is 322,750 (2020 est.) in an area of . This place name comes from the Tupi language, and means "narrow pat ...

, the northern coast (with

Bertioga Bertioga is a Brazilian municipality of the state of São Paulo in the Baixada Santista. It is part of the Metropolitan Region of Baixada Santista. The population is 64,723 (2020 est.) in an area of 490.15 km2. Because it neighbors resort ...

), as well as the southern coast (with cities

Mongaguá Mongaguá is a municipality in the state of São Paulo in Brazil. It is part of the Metropolitan Region of Baixada Santista. The population is 57,648 (2020 est.) in an area of 141.87 km2. The name comes from the Tupi language. Its seal c ...

, and

Itanhaém Itanhaém is a municipality in the state of São Paulo in Brazil. It is part of the Metropolitan Region of Baixada Santista. The population is 103,102 (2020 est.) in an area of 601.85 km². The elevation is 4 m. Location The name Itanhaém ...

). Its south lane was inaugurated on Tuesday, 17 December 2002. Meaning "immigrants' highway" in

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

, the Rodovia dos Imigrantes was so named as a way to remember the contribution of

immigrants Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, and ...

to the cultural, economic, and social development of Brazil. It is managed by a state concession to the private company, Ecovias, which also maintains the Rodovia Anchieta; it is, therefore, a

toll road A toll road, also known as a turnpike or tollway, is a public or private road (almost always a controlled-access highway in the present day) for which a fee (or ''toll'') is assessed for passage. It is a form of road pricing typically implemented ...

. The two

carriageway A carriageway (British English) or roadway (North American English) consists of a width of road on which a vehicle is not restricted by any physical barriers or separation to move laterally. A carriageway generally consists of a number of tra ...

s of the Rodovia dos Imigrantes are both fully reversible and

traffic Traffic comprises pedestrians, vehicles, ridden or herded animals, trains, and other conveyances that use public ways (roads) for travel and transportation. Traffic laws govern and regulate traffic, while rules of the road include traffic ...

is managed to flow either bidirectionally (uphill on one carriageway and downhill on the other) or unidirectionally (uphill or downhill on both carriageways), depending on

demand In economics, demand is the quantity of a good that consumers are willing and able to purchase at various prices during a given time. The relationship between price and quantity demand is also called the demand curve. Demand for a specific item ...

. In the unidirectional mode, the opposing traffic is diverted to the

Directions

The path of the Immigrant Road crosses the following municipalities, all in the state of

, Diadema,

São Bernardo do Campo São Bernardo do Campo () is a Brazilian Municipalities of Brazil, municipality in the state of São Paulo. It is part of the Metropolitan Region of São Paulo. The population is 844,483 (2020 est.) in an area of . History The city was founded b ...

Cubatão Cubatão is a city in the state of São Paulo, Brazil, 12 kilometers away from Santos seaport, the largest in Latin America. It is part of the Metropolitan Region of Baixada Santista. The population is 131,626 (2020 est.) in an area of 142.88 ...

, São Vicente and

Tolls

The Rodovia dos Imigrantes has been tolled since its inauguration. As in all the highways that suffered concessions, the tolls of the Imigrantes suffered strong readjustments, even after discounting inflation, considered excessive by significant users. Currently, the toll of the Imigrantes is the most expensive in the state, at R$ 26.20, valid for a round trip by car. In the stretch of plateau, the Imigrantes presents three tolls of blockade to the access to the bordering localities.

References

External links

Secretary of Transportation of the State Government of São Paulo

Ecovias
{{Highways of the city of São Paulo Highways in São Paulo (state)

Directions

Tolls

See also

References

External links