These are the worst times to hit the road at the turn of the year

The end-of-year festivities will impose a stress test on São Paulo’s road network. According to an estimate by Artesp (São Paulo State Transportation Agency), more than 13 million vehicles are expected to circulate on the highways that cross the state during Christmas and New Year celebrations. For those who intend to travel, planning is crucial to avoid the bottlenecks foreseen at the exit from the capital and access to the coast.

In the metropolitan region alone, the CET (Traffic Engineering Company) projects that 2.5 million vehicles will leave the city between December 19 and January 5. The flow should intensify on the eve of holidays (the 23rd, 24th, 30th and 31st), with the concessionaires’ recommendation for drivers to avoid the hours between 2 pm and 10 pm, when traffic reaches its peak.

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Operation Road and Critical Routes

To mitigate the impacts of the excessive volume, Operation Road 2025 was launched, which reinforces monitoring on the Tietê and Pinheiros Marginal Roads, in addition to the accesses to the highways. The Mário Covas Beltway emerges as a strategic route for those who need to cross the region without entering the urban fabric, with an estimated 1.8 million vehicles.

In the main interstate connections, the service scheme was expanded with tow trucks and extra ambulances. Check out the traffic estimates:

• Fernão Dias (BR-381): The main connection with Minas Gerais, it should receive 4.6 million vehicles. The concessionaire provided service via WhatsApp to speed up rescue.
• Dutra and Rio-Santos: RioSP projects more than 3 million vehicles on the Rio-São Paulo axis, with a peak return concentrated in early January.
• Régis Bittencourt (BR-116): Route to the South, expects 3.4 million vehicles. On critical days, the volume can exceed the conventional daily average by 90%.

The guidance of the authorities is that the mechanical inspection should be done in advance, given the high risk of breakdowns in traffic jams. The return to the capital should concentrate heavy traffic on January 4 and 5, 2026, requiring patience from drivers.