Map of Transportation in Rio Grande do Norte

Click the link for a map of multimodal transportation in the State of Rio Grande do Norte.
This map was made and is updated by the Brazilian Ministry of Transportation. Notice that you can click on the name of the roads, ports, etc. to get further information.

Roads

The two most important roads in Rio Grande do Norte are federal highways BR-101 and BR-304.
BR-101 South goes from Paraíba (actually, this road comes all the way from Rio Grande do Sul, in the south of Brazil, following the coast) until the south of Natal; there are sugar-cane farms beside this part of the road, so expect traffic of trucks. BR-101 Norte goes from the north of Natal until Touros, and is much quieter than BR-101 South.
BR-304 connects Natal to Fortaleza, via Mossoró. The road is straight, but with many ups and downs. Be careful with animals crossing the roads.
The Department of Transportation maintains an excellent, up to the minute page about the conditions of federal roads in Rio Grande do Norte; click on the name of the road to get information, broken down by the kilometer, about its condition.
Update 2006. The BR-101 is being "duplicated". Currently, in most of the road, there is only one lane each way; by the end of 2007, there will be two lanes each way, from Natal to Maceió. After the work is done, the trip from Natal to João Pessoa, Recife and Maceió should be made in shorter time and with much more security.

Airports

The largest airport in the State is International Airport Augusto Severo, in Parnamirim, metropolitan region of Natal; read more about the airport in the section arriving in Natal.
There is also an airport in Mossoró, but which does not operate commercial flights.
A new airport is being constructed in the city of São Gonçalo do Amarante; scheduled to be opened in 2009, this will be the largest cargo airport in Latin America; read this press release, in Portuguese, about the airport of São Gonçalo do Amarante.

Ports

There are two important ports in the State: Porto de Natal and Porto de Areia Branca.
The Porto de Areia Branca (Areia Branca means "White Sand") is an artificial island used to stock the salt which is produced in the region of Macau and exported to the rest of the country.
The Porto de Natal is situated about 1 km inside the river Potengi. Even though the port is prepared to receive passenger vessels, it is currently used mostly to export the production of the State (except salt), like fruits and shrimp.
Owners of small boats and yatchs can harbor in the Iate Clube de Natal. There is a project under progress, funded by Spanish companies, which will turn the Yatch Club into a large marina.

Railways

The railways of Rio Grande do Norte were sold (chartered) to private companies in 1998. There´s no long distance trains running in the State. There is an urban line of trains running in Natal.


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