BR-116
BR-116 is a federal route of highways of Brazil. The second longest highway in Brazil, its connect Fortaleza, Ceará, one of the largest Northeast Brazil metropolises, to the southern city of Jaguarão, Rio Grande do Sul, in the border with Uruguay. It is also the longest highway in the country to be completely paved. It is considered one of the most important highways in the country, along with BR-101. Route description. BR-116 runs in a north-south direction, close to, but not on Brazil's coastline. It is the second longest highway in the country and, by connecting major  urban centers including Fortaleza, São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Curitiba and Porto Alegre, arguably the most important and busiest Brazilian highway. Numerous stretches of BR-116 highway have other official names. The highway is especially busy along the Curitiba—São Paulo—Rio de Janeiro section. The Curitiba–São Paulo section–officially known as the Régis Bittencourt Highway ("Rodovia Régis Bittencourt")–is nicknamed the "Highway of Death" (""Rodovia da Morte"") due to its many weather-related accidents. The São Paulo—Rio de Janeiro section is officially named President Dutra Highway ("Rodovia Presidente Dutra") and is the busiest section of BR-116, running into or  close to 15 cities with over 200,000 inhabitants. Major cities directly served by BR-116 highway are: 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. Duplications. In the southern region of the country, the highway is duplicated in the 70 km between Guaíba, Porto Alegre and Novo Hamburgo. The 218 km between Guaíba and Pelotas is currently doubling. In August 2020, there were already 92 km duplicated and delivered on this section. In the Southeast Region of  the country, the highway is doubled in the 400 km between Curitiba and São Paulo, where it's called Rodovia Régis Bittencourt (almost all duplicated around the year 2000, the last stretch in the mountains was only completed in 2017), and in the 410 km between São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, where it's called Rodovia Presidente Dutra (doubled in 1967, it is the most important highway in the country, connecting the 2 largest cities). The connection between Rio de Janeiro and Guapimirim has also been doubled since 1980. In the Northeast Region of the country, the highway is  duplicated in the 76 km between Feira de Santana and Argoim, in Bahia. Privatizations. On March 1, 1996, the stretch of highway between the cities of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, known as the Rodovia Presidente Dutra, was granted to private companies, with the CCR Nova Dutra company being the current administrator. On the same day, a 144 kilometer section between the cities of Duque de Caxias and Sapucaia was granted to a company named CRT.