Carretera Central (CC) | |
---|---|
Central Road | |
Route information | |
Length | 1,435 km (892 mi) |
Existed | 1927–present |
Major junctions | |
West end | La Fé (Pinar del Río Province) |
East end | Baracoa (Guantánamo Province) |
Location | |
Country | Cuba |
Major cities | La Fé, Sandino, Pinar del Río, Artemisa, Havana, San José de las Lajas, Matanzas, Colón, Santa Clara, Placetas, Sancti Spíritus, Ciego de Ávila, Florida, Camagüey, Las Tunas, Holguín, Bayamo, Palma Soriano, Santiago de Cuba, Guantánamo, Baracoa |
Highway system | |
The Carretera Central (CC), meaning "Central Road", is a west-east highway spanning the length of the island of Cuba.
Formal construction began in 1927 during the Gerardo Machado administration. [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 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 1,250 km (777 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.
Administratively, Cuba is divided into 15 provinces and one special municipality. The current structure has been in place since August 2010, when the then-La Habana Province was divided into Artemisa Province and Mayabeque Province.
Placetas is a city in the Villa Clara Province in the center of Cuba; before the change in the country's government in 1959 the province was called Las Villas. The town is also known as La Villa de los Laureles because of its wild laurel trees. Placetas is also a municipio, one of 13 subdivisions of the Villa Clara Province. Cuba's geographical center, Guaracabulla, is located in this municipality.
Gerardo Machado y Morales was a general of the Cuban War of Independence and President of Cuba from 1925 to 1933.
Baracoa, whose full original name is: Nuestra Señora de la Asunción de Baracoa, is a municipality and city in Guantánamo Province near the eastern tip of Cuba. It was visited by Admiral Christopher Columbus on November 27, 1492, and then founded by the first governor of Cuba, the Spanish conquistador Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar on August 15, 1511. It is the oldest Spanish settlement in Cuba and was its first capital.
Santa Clara is the capital city of the Cuban province of Villa Clara. It is centrally located in the province and Cuba. Santa Clara is the fifth-most populous Cuban city, with a population of nearly 250,000.
Bauta is a municipality and town located 40 km (25 mi) southwest of Havana City, in the Artemisa Province of Cuba since 2010 as a result of the division of what was the Province of Havana.
Cuban infrastructure is significant and includes: massive Spanish fortifications built in principal ports.
Sandino is a municipality and town in the Pinar del Río Province of Cuba. The town is located close to the coast and as such, fishing is the main economic resource of this place. It is also the gateway to the Guanahacabibes Peninsula, a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve.
Caimito is a municipality and town in Artemisa Province of Cuba. The town was founded in 1820. The municipality of Caimito del Guayabal was created in 1910, based on the previously existing (1879–1902) municipality of Guayabal in the Pinar del Río Province. Since 1976, the official name is Caimito.
Ranchuelo is a town and municipality in the Villa Clara Province of Cuba. It was founded in 1734 and has a municipal population of 59,062, of which about 16,804 in the town itself.
La Fe is a Cuban village of the municipality of Sandino, in Pinar del Río Province. It is part of the consejo popular of Cayuco.
Esperanza, also known as La Esperanza, is a Cuban village and consejo popular of the municipality of Ranchuelo, in Villa Clara Province. With a 2011 population of 11,555 it is the most populated municipal settlement after Ranchuelo.
The road network of Cuba consists of 60,858 km (37,815 mi) of roads, of which over 29,850 km (18,550 mi) are paved and 31,038 km (19,286 mi) are unpaved. The Caribbean country counts also 654 km (406 mi) of motorways (autopistas).
The Autopista A1, also known as Autopista Nacional, is a Cuban motorway, partly built, that will link Havana to Guantánamo. It is a toll-free road and its total length will be of about 900 km (560 mi). Along with the Autopista A4, linking Havana to Pinar del Río, it is classified as part of the whole Autopista Nacional route, spanning the length of the island; as the Carretera Central highway.
The Circuito Norte (CN), meaning "Northern Circuit", is a west-east highway spanning the length of the island of Cuba, through the Atlantic Coast. With a length of 1,222 km, it is the second-longest Cuban highway, after the "Carretera Central"; and two sections of it, named "Vía Blanca" and "Panamericana", are classified as Expressways.
Cascajal is a Cuban village and consejo popular of the municipality of Santo Domingo, in Villa Clara Province. With a 2011 population of 7,251, it is the most populated municipal settlement after Santo Domingo.
Santa Lucía is a Cuban village and consejo popular of the municipality of Minas de Matahambre, in Pinar del Río Province. In 2011 it had a population of 4,240.
The Circuito Sur de Oriente (CSO), meaning "Southern Circuit of the Orient", is a west-east highway connecting Bayamo to Santiago de Cuba, through Manzanillo, Niquero and the southern coastal side of eastern Cuba, below the Sierra Maestra mountain range. Also known as Circuito Guacanayabo-Sur de Oriente, because it crosses the Gulf of Guacanayabo, the name Oriente, refers to the ancient and former Oriente Province. With a length of 347 km, it is the fourth-longest Cuban highway after the "Carretera Central", the "Circuito Norte" and the "Circuito Sur".
Luis Arcos Bergnes also known as Carmita is a small town and a ward in Camajuani, Villa Clara, Cuba. With a population of 2,279 it is considered a village.