AI and digital tools slash potholes on Brazil's highways

Brazil is using artificial intelligence and digital data platforms to overhaul road maintenance. In Minas Gerais, the state roads department (DER‑MG) reported an 80 % drop in potholes after adopting continuous digital monitoring. The startup Kartado, serving more than half of the country’s highway concessions, claims its tools can cut up to 98 % of the time spent on operational processes. Digital records allowed the BR‑040 corridor to log 176,073 technical notes over eight years, enabling rapid defect response. A McKinsey analysis notes that firms lacking solid data governance waste about 30 % of their time on data collection and correction, while 80 % of the top 20 concessions already digitize condition data to avoid contractual penalties.