The Carretera Central (CC), meaning "Central Road", is a west-east highway spanning the length of the island of Cuba. The route is numbered NâÂÂ1, with it being split into 6 regions, being 1âÂÂNâÂÂ1, 2âÂÂNâÂÂ1, 3âÂÂNâÂÂ1, 4âÂÂNâÂÂ1, 5âÂÂNâÂÂ1, and 6âÂÂNâÂÂ1.
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. It runs along the island of Cuba from west to east, between Pinar del RÃÂo 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 NâÂÂ1, with a prefix depending on the former province it was in, being 1âÂÂNâÂÂ1 for Pinar del RÃÂo Province, 2âÂÂNâÂÂ1 for La Habana Province, 3âÂÂNâÂÂ1 for Matanzas Province, 4âÂÂNâÂÂ1 for Santa Clara Province, 5âÂÂNâÂÂ1 for Camagüey Province, and 6âÂÂNâÂÂ1 for Oriente Province, although now the numbering system is largely unused, with most signs saying an abbreviated version of âÂÂCarretera CentralâÂÂ.
The Carretera Central starts in the village of La Fe, a hamlet of Sandino, in the western province of Pinar del RÃÂo, and links all major cities and province capitals except Cienfuegos. It runs about to Baracoa in the eastern Guantánamo province.
The table below shows the route of the Carretera Central. Note: Provincial seats are shown in bold; the names shown under brackets in the section "Municipality" indicate the municipal seats.