The SP-171 is a State road in Brazil and is under the jurisdiction of the state of São Paulo, connecting the Paraíba Valley to the northern coast of São Paulo and the southern lowlands of Rio de Janeiro.ARTESP: Road map under concession (In Portuguese) It has two official names: Paulo Virgínio road (from km 0 to km 47)ALESP: Gives the name «Paulo Virgínio» to the highway that connects Guaratinguetá to Cunha (In Portuguese) and Vice-mayor Salvador Pacetti road (from km 47 to km 70).ALESP: Gives the name «Salvador Pacetti» to the highway that connects Cunha to the Rio border (In Portuguese) In 70 kilometers of extension,Department of State Roads (in Portuguese: "Departamento de Estradas de Rodagem" - DER) of São Paulo: Regional Division of Taubaté - Jurisdiction Network (page 5) (In Portuguese) the SP-171 connects the Via Dutra (BR-116), in Guaratinguetá (SP), to the center of the municipality of Cunha (SP) and the Via Rio-Santos (BR-101), in Paraty (RJ), through its Fluminense extension (stretching for another 21 kilometers) as RJ-165.RJ-165 (In Portuguese)

After the inauguration of the Comendador Antônio Cônti Park road (as RJ-165 is officially named), in 2017, it is completely integrated into the federal route of BR-459.Ministry of Transport: BR-459 (In Portuguese) Currently, its entire path is managed by the Department of State Roads (in Portuguese: "Departamento de Estradas de Rodagem" - DER) of São Paulo.DER-SP (in "Highway Code:", select the option "SP 171" and click "Search") (In Portuguese) The highway direction, that is, the kilometer count, runs from north to south and crosses the geographical locations of Paraitinga and Paraibuna rivers, positioned in the upper Paraíba River hydrographic basin;USP: Socio-environmental Atlas of Cunha SP (page 9) (In Portuguese) after passing through the Cunha locality of Taboão, the last kilometer (km 70) converts into km 21 of RJ-165 and the count becomes regressive until the Rio-Santos junction, concluding the connection route.

This state road offers access to important environmental preservation areas, such as the parks of the Serra do MarPESM: Cunha Nucleus (In Portuguese) and Serra da Bocaina.ICMBio: Bocaina National Park (In Portuguese) It also interlinks sites and places that compose the Brazilian cultural and historical heritage. Its layout is ancient and dates back to the period when the country belonged to the Kingdom of Portugal: it had become the southern fork of the Caminho dos Paulistas way (also called Caminho Geral do Sertão way) and was part of the Caminho do Ouro (also called the Old Way), one of the Royal Roads (Estradas Reais) of the Colony.IdasBrasil: History of the Royal Road (In Portuguese) Its path, opened in 1596 by Martim Correia de Sá,Cunha.sp.gov.br: The first official incursion into the region was... (In Portuguese) was part of the route of the first long-distance road in Brazil — established in 1697 by order of Peter of Lisbon (23rd King of Portugal), connecting Paraty to Ouro Preto in 710 kilometers, but, with rudimentary characteristics (as a well-structured trail), serving only the traffic of travelers on foot, on horseback or with animal-drawn carts —.The Gold Way was the first road officially opened by the Portuguese Crown... (In Portuguese) The first Brazilian road built specifically for motor vehicles and properly paved since its construction was inaugurated in 1861 by Dom Pedro II, linking Petrópolis to Juiz de Fora in 144 kilometers.The historic highway is an engineering milestone: it was the first paved road in Latin America... (In Portuguese) The first documented passage of a motor vehicle between the Paraíba Valley and Paraty occurred only in 1932 by Dr. Eduardo Pompéia Vasconcellos (the engineer responsible for the projects to modernize the route that gave the current itinerary characteristics of SP-171 and RJ-165).The arrival of the 1st automobile in Paraty (In Portuguese)

Today, it is the main road of Cunha and is also the largest public way in the municipality: there are approximately fifty kilometers within the Cunhense territory from the border with Guaratinguetá (popularly known only as “Guará”GovSP: Discover the Tourist Municipality of Guaratinguetá (In Portuguese)) to the border with the state of Rio de Janeiro and it is assigned the following Brazilian Postal Code (CEP): 12530-000CEP of Cunha (SP) (In Portuguese) — while in Guará, the assigned CEPs are n° 12503-021 (in the first kilometers of the road, when it passes through the Pedreira locality)Paulo Virgínio Highway - Pedreira - Guaratinguetá, SP (In Portuguese) and n° 12503-790 (near the municipal limit, when it passes through the Rocinha locality);Paulo Virgínio Highway - Rocinha - Guaratinguetá, SP (In Portuguese) and, in the other direction, after the border, it obtains the CEP n° 23970-000 —.CEP of RJ-165 / Paraty (RJ) (In Portuguese)

Development

In addition to the main route, when SP-171 was still entirely dirt (without asphalt paving), there were other paths and little information for those traveling between the coast and the interior of the continent. To facilitate and improve the journey, a project by the government of the state of São Paulo was carried out to pave the stretch between the Via Dutra (BR-116), in Guaratinguetá, and the center of the city of Cunha. With São Paulo State Law n° 1.585, of April 17, 1978, the 1st part of the road was officially named Paulo Virgínio road, in honor of the civil hero during the Revolution of 1932. There were still another 23 kilometers to the state border without pavement. In 1984, the São Paulo government concluded the work up to the border, at the top of the Serra da Bocaina: this 2nd part, with State Law n° 4.337, of October 30, 1984, was officially called Vice-mayor Salvador Pacetti road, in honor of the Italian pharmacist who contributed to the construction of the city of Cunha and helped the local population, in addition to having recognized the gift of Sá Mariinha.History of SP-171 (PDF in Portuguese)

Within Fluminense territory, the road route extends for another 21 kilometers with the classification of RJ-165 and is under the jurisdiction of the state of Rio. The Fluminense extension is recognized according to Rio de Janeiro State Law n° 7.556-2017 and receives the name Comendador Antônio Cônti Park road. RJ-165 connects at km 70 and continues entirely within the Bocaina Serra National Park to the center of the city of Paraty. The paving of this 3rd part, completed in 2016 and formalized in 2017 with the said legislation, represented the fulfillment by the Fluminense government of an agreement made in 1954 with the state of São Paulo to pave the entire route from Guaratinguetá to the Atlantic coast. The state of São Paulo fulfilled its part of the agreement in 1984.

As it is the main access to the south of Guaratinguetá and the lands of Cunha, this roadway has intense traffic. Traffic jams are more common during days of traditional folkloric festivities in the region. The Guaratinguetá-Cunha stretch is the busiest and most developed. Due to the incident that occurred on December 30, 2010 — collapse of the track, causing its total blockage —, the route through the Quebra Cangalha mountains (between km 12 and 19) was duplicated in some points. Other recovery and repair works were also completed. In November 2011, the state government invested in infrastructure, especially for the prevention of catastrophes resulting from natural phenomena and to offer greater safety to travelers. Currently, the SP-171 constitutes the last highway branch of the federal route of the BR-459, comprising a long-distance interstate road line between the municipalities of Poços de Caldas, Lorena (connected by BR-459), Guaratinguetá (connected by BR-116), Cunha (connected by SP-171), Paraty (connected by RJ-165), and Angra dos Reis (connected by BR-101).

The zero kilometer of the SP-171 is located immediately after the highway junction with Via Dutra, in Guaratinguetá. From the starting point, it continues through the rural area, in a southerly direction, towards the coast. At km 20, there is a highway junction with the SP-153. And another two kilometers ahead, it crosses the municipal boundary between Guaratinguetá and Cunha. Between kilometers 44 and 48, the road passes within the urban perimeter of Cunha. From km 48 onwards, the terrain becomes more sinuous, offering a route with a high degree of declines and inclines. At km 56, it offers access to the Serra do Mar State Park (Cunha-Indaiá Nucleus) — beginning the stretch within the state forest reserve — and, after another 500 meters, there is access to the Paraibuna locality. At km 66, there is the dirt access that connects to the Pedra da Macela lookout, one of the highest points of the Serra da Bocaina. At km 70, already within the territory of the Serra da Bocaina National Park, on the state border, it connects directly with Comendador Antônio Cônti Park road (RJ-165), leading to the center of Paraty and several beaches. It is about ninety kilometers long (considering the 21 kilometers of the Fluminense extension) in a single-lane track, duplicated in some points. The roadway is completely paved, has no toll plazas, and its mountain route bypasses few urban areas and passes, for the most part, through rural and environmental protection zones. Therefore, drivers must be alert to possible animal crossings and vehicle conditions (especially the brakes). The route also has considerable scenic importance for the natural heritage and attracts the attention of travelers for being a historical route, for its mountainous path, for passing through still intact forest reserves, and for being the route of several trails, lookouts, and waterfalls.

Route