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 Carretera Central through Santa Clara
Vía Blanca at the bridge of Bacunayagua
Map showing the Cuban motorway network

Motorways

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Overview

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Cuba has eight toll-free expressways named Autopistas, seven of them centralized in the city of Havana and connected to each other by the Havana Ring Road, with the exception of the motorway to Mariel. The carriageway is divided and the lanes in each direction go from two to four. Maximum speed limit is 120 km/h (75 mph). In the Isla de la Juventud, the dual carriageway from Nueva Gerona to La Fe is classified as a motorway.[1]

The principal motorways A1 and A4, running from the west to the east of the island and partly unbuilt (most of A1 sections), are the only one numbered and shortened with "A".[1] As well as the Carretera Central covers the entire island, they are projected to perform the same function as motorways.

The route from Matanzas to Varadero of the Vía Blanca is the only toll road between Cuban motorways. The other autopistas have short routes and run from Havana to its suburban towns in Artemisa and Mayabeque provinces.

List of motorways

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Sign Autopista[1] Route Length Notes
 
A1 (Autopista Nacional) Havana-Jagüey Grande-Santa Clara-Sancti Spíritus-Ciego de Ávila-Camagüey-Las Tunas-Holguín-Bayamo[note 1]-Santiago de Cuba-Guantánamo 900 km (560 mi) (c. 448 km (278 mi) operating) Operating sections are:[2][1]

Other sections are under construction and planned.

 
Autopista A1-1 (Autopista Santa Clara) A1-Santa Clara
 
A2 (Havana Ring Road)
(Primer Anillo de La Habana)
Havana (from Marianao to the Harbor) 36 km (22 mi) Beltway serving Havana, a branch serves the José Martí Airport
 
A3 (Autopista Havana-Melena) Havana-Melena del Sur 32 km (20 mi) ...
 
A4 (Autopista Este-Oeste) Havana-Artemisa-Pinar del Río 156 km (97 mi) Classified as part of the "Autopista Nacional"
 
A4-1 (Autopista ZEDM) A4-Port of Mariel
Vía Blanca (I-3) Havana-Matanzas-Varadero-Cárdenas 150 km (93 mi) (138 km (86 mi) as motorway) Part of the "Circuito Norte" (CN) highway
Toll road from Matanzas to Varadero
    Autopista del Mediodía (2-101) Havana-San Antonio de los Baños 18 km (11 mi) Incorporates the San Pedro Highway Strip, designed to be usable as an aircraft runway
Autopista Havana–Mariel Havana-Playa Baracoa-Mariel 26 km (16 mi) Part of the "Circuito Norte" (CN) highway
Autopista de la Isla de la Juventud Nueva Gerona-La Fe 15 km (9.3 mi) Located in the Isle of Youth
  Autopista Sancti Spiritus (4-66) A1-Sancti Spíritus 11 km (6.8 mi)
Autopista Artemisa A4-Artemisa

State highways

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Cuba has a complex network of single carriageway highways, most of them numbered, named Carreteras or Circuitos. Some of the most prominent are:

Other more minor state highways are numbered east to west per pre-1970s province, with the numbering system largely going unupdated and unused also after the 70s. The numbers are 1 for Pinar del Río Province, 2 for La Habana Province, 3 for Matanzas Province, 4 for Las Villas Province, 5 for Camagüey Province, and 6 for Oriente Province, with each province having secondary numbers for each road, also going from east to west 1-999. These highways include

Common name Number Notes
Isabel Rubio–Mantua Road, Road of Guane
 
1–1
Road to Manuel Lazo
 
1–2
Autopista del Mediodía, Avenida 23 2–101
Autopista del Mediodía, Road to San Antonio de Los Baños 2–200
Vía Monumental 2–400
Autopista Sancti Spiritus 4–66
Villa Clara–Cienfuegos Road, Santa Clara–Cienfuegos Road, Esperanza–Cienfuegos Road 4–112
Road of Malezas, Santa Clara–Encrucijada Road 4–311
Santa Clara–Caibarién Road, Road of Camajuaní 4–321
Sancti Spíritus–Yaguajay Road 4–531
Nuevitas–Camagüey Road 5–445
Road to Niquero 6–4
Gramma Road 6–20
Bayamo–Las Tunas Road 6–152

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ A1 project through Granma and Holguín provinces is yet undefined
  2. ^ passing through the provinces of Mayabeque, Matanzas, Cienfuegos, Villa Clara and Sancti Spíritus

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f Source: Mapa de Carreteras de Cuba (Road map of Cuba). Ediciones GEO, Havana 2011 - ISBN 959-7049-21-X
  2. ^ Satellite images of Cuba at Google Maps
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  Media related to Roads in Cuba at Wikimedia Commons