Carretera Central (Cuba)

The Carretera Central (CC), meaning "Central Road", is a west-east highway spanning the length of the island of Cuba. The route is numbered N–1, with it being split into 6 regions, being 1–N–1, 2–N–1, 3–N–1, 4–N–1, 5–N–1, and 6–N–1.

Formal construction began in 1927 during the Gerardo Machado administration and its original layout of 1,139 km (707.7 mi) was completed in 1931.^[1] It runs along the island of Cuba from west to east, between Pinar del Río and Oriente. It is a two-way single road. It represented an extraordinary economic value during Machado and Fulgencio Batista's administrations. It facilitated faster transportation and effective inter-province commuting.

The road was originally signed N–1, with a prefix depending on the former province it was in, being 1–N–1 for Pinar del Río Province, 2–N–1 for La Habana Province, 3–N–1 for Matanzas Province, 4–N–1 for Santa Clara Province, 5–N–1 for Camagüey Province, and 6–N–1 for Oriente Province, although now the numbering system is largely unused, with most signs saying an abbreviated version of “Carretera Central”.

The Carretera Central starts in the village of La Fe, a hamlet of Sandino, in the western province of Pinar del Río, and links all major cities and province capitals except Cienfuegos.^[2] It runs about 1,435 km (892 mi)^[3] to Baracoa in the eastern Guantánamo province.

The table below shows the route of the Carretera Central.^[2] Note: Provincial seats are shown in bold; the names shown under brackets in the section "Municipality" indicate the municipal seats.

• Carretera Central near Santo Domingo, Villa Clara province
• Through Santo Domingo, Villa Clara province
• Through Santa Clara
• Through Santa Clara
• Carretera Central in Villa Clara province
• Traffic jam on Carretera
• Political poster on Carretera
• La Farola mountain pass between Imías and Baracoa

• Roads in Cuba
• Vía Blanca

• (in Spanish) Carretera Central photos

22°02′32″N 84°16′18″W / 22.04222°N 84.27167°W / 22.04222; -84.27167