In Mato Grosso, a trip from farm to market is an adventure. The roads are abysmal. Few paved highways link cities and towns, and even the handful of main federal arteries are more pothole than pavement in places. At harvest, these two-lane asphalt roads are filled with grain trucks that snake through the potholes at speeds of anywhere from 5 to 120 kilometers per hour, depending on road conditions and the drivers' nerves. One grain truck driver says a trip of about 200 miles regularly takes him nine to 12 hours.
Politicians talk about fixing existing roads and have plans for at least one major four-lane.
One man who owns a paving company says road construction is extremely lucrative, but it is parceled out to contractors in a way more attuned to political needs than transportation needs. FerroNorte, a new railroad company, is building a line from the port of Santos in the south to the production areas of the north. The railhead is currently at Alto Taquari on the southern border of Mato Grosso. When it does, it will greatly improve grain movement from the expansion area. Estimates on completion vary from three years to 10 years.