Highways in Haiti
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Haiti's network of roads consists of National Roads, Department Roads, and county roads. The hub of the road network is located at the old airport (at the intersection of Boulevard Jean-Jacques Dessalines and Autoroute de Delmas). From this intersection, Route Nationale #1 and Route Nationale #2 commence.
- Route Nationale #1 (RN1) heads north, passing through Saint-Marc and Gonaïves to its terminus at Rue 22 in Cap-Haïtien.
- Route Nationale #2 (RN2) is commonly known as “Boulevard Jean-Jacques Dessalines” within Port-au-Prince and as “Route du Sud” outside the capital region. After heading south through downtown Port-au-Prince, it travels west through the capital's western boroughs and then through Petit-Goâve and Aquin to its terminus at Avenue des Quatre Chemins in Les Cayes. (However, its “extension” continues southwest almost to the sea south of Port Salut.)
- Route Nationale #3 (RN3) begins where RN1 heads northwest from Bon Repos, not far north of the road network's hub. RN3 travels northeast, traversing the Plateau Centrale via Mirebalais and Hinche before finally re-joining RN1 in Cap-Haïtien.
- Route Nationale #4 (RN4) branches off from RN2 at Carrefour du Fort Léogâne, not far south of Léogâne. Commonly known as “Route de l’Amitié”, RN4 climbs and descends the Chaîne de la Selle mountain range on its meandering southward course to its terminus in the centre of Jacmel.
- Route Nationale #5 (RN5) breaks off from RN1 on the northeast edge of Gonaïves, heading north and then northwest through Gros Morne before terminating near the airport outside Port-de-Paix.
- Route Nationale #6 (RN6) branches off from RN3 just as it is about to enter Cap-Haïtien from the south. RN6 heads southeast toward the Dominican border through Terrier Rouge en route to Ouanaminthe. Its terminus is the bridge over the Massacre River.
- Route Nationale #7 (RN7) commences from the aforementioned Avenue des Quatre Chemins in Les Cayes, going northwest across Haiti's southern arm to the outskirts of Jérémie.
- Route Nationale #8 (RN8) is by far the shortest of the National Roads. It breaks off RN1 at Carrefour Shada in Croix-des-Missions. Heading east, it passes through Croix-des-Bouquets, skirts the southern shore of Étang Saumâtre, and terminates at the Malpasse border crossing with the Dominican Republic.
Maintenance for RN1 and RN2 lapsed after the 1991 coup, prompting the World Bank to loan US$50 million that was designated for road repairs. The project was cancelled in January 1999. The World Bank, who reasoned that the cancellation of those projects would ruin Haiti's road infrastructure progress created the FER (Fond d’Entretien Routier) in 2003. This was a way to cut down corruption, get local companies involved, and in restraining any stopping of these projects because of political instability or protests. President Rene Preval, on his campaign for his second term, vowed on his Maillages Routiers to rebuild the majority of these roads that had disintegrated rapidly and build new ones that would enable the country to move forward. When he wasn't able to get the funds from the World Bank, he pleaded to the international donors for assistance, which was heavily criticized by many politicians in the media, but was greatly embraced by a population desperate to see road infrastructure development come to their towns. Therefore, the European Union pledged to help build RN6, then RN3. In the meantime, the World Bank loaned Haiti US$200 Million to rebuild RN2, from River Froide, which is the starting point of RN2, all the way to Aquin and repair RN1 from Titanyen to Cap-Haïtien. The hurricane season of 2008 was a major setback in development, since many bridges in multiple areas had either collapse or suffered extensive damage and was in immediate need of repair. Most of those work on RN1 and RN2, that were already halted, suffered a major setback during the earthquake of January 12, 2010. For the construction of RN7, Canada pledged US$75 million and the IDB US$31 million for the construction of RN7, which started in 2009. It, too, suffered major setbacks because of the January 12 earthquake.
Statistics
- Total highways: 6,045 km
- Paved highways: 2,971 km
- Unpaved highways: 3,071 km (2011 est)