BR-319 is an 870-kilometre (540 mi) federal highway that links Manaus, Amazonas to Porto Velho, Rondônia. The highway runs through a pristine part of the Amazon rainforest. It was opened by the military government in 1973 but soon deteriorated, and by 1988 was impassible. In 2008 work began to repair the highway, which will provide an alternative to boat travel along the Madeira River or flying between Manaus and Porto Velho. Protected areas have been created along the route in an effort to prevent deforestation when BR-319 is reopened, a serious concern given the devastation caused elsewhere by highways such as BR-364. As of mid-2016 paving of the middle section of the highway had yet to be approved. Construction permits will depend on measures to prevent future damage to the forest.

Manaus is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian state of Amazonas. It is the seventh-largest city in Brazil, with an estimated 2020 population of 2,219,580 distributed over a land area of about 11,401 km2 (4,402 sq mi). Located at the east centre of the state, the city is the centre of the Manaus metropolitan area and the largest metropolitan area in the North Region of Brazil by urban landmass. It is situated near the confluence of the Negro and Amazon rivers. It is one of the two cities in the Amazon Rainforest with a population of over 1 million people, alongside Belém.