DR-1 (Dominican Republic highway)

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DR-1
Expreso John F Kennedy Corredor Duarte Autopista Juan Pablo Duarte Autopista Joaquín Balaguer
Route information
Length	167.77 mi[ Monte Cristi, DR
Location
Country	Monte Cristi
Highway system
Highways in the Dominican Republic

DR-1 is a dual carriageway highway that forms part of the five designated national highways of the Dominican Republic. DR-1 provides a fast connection between Santo Domingo, the capital, on the southern coast, and the second city Santiago and the rest of the northerly Cibao region, one of the country's main regions.

DR-1's southern terminus is the Expreso John F Kennedy in the City of Santo Domingo. The highway emerges from Greater Santo Domingo as Autopista Juan Pablo Duarte, and after reaching its midpoint, Santiago, it changes name to Autopista Joaquín Balaguer.

DR-1 is the oldest and one of the most efficient highways in the nation. Construction of the initial road from Santo Domingo to Santiago began in 1917 and was completed in 1922.^[1] Construction of the dual carriageway began during the period of Joaquín Balaguer and was finished under Leonel Fernández in 1997. Renovations and upgrades have continued ever since, with many future ones like the Viaduct from Los Alcarrizos to the National District being in the construction stage.

Route description

From its southern terminus in the Distrito Nacional (Santo Domingo) to its northern terminus in Monte Cristi on the Dominican-Haitian Border, the highway changes names and quality slightly deteriorates farther from Santo Domingo. DR-1 connects Santo Domingo to the Cibao region known for its fertile valley responsible of producing most of the country's agricultural exports. DR-1 also connects Santo Domingo with the Dominican Republic's second largest city, Santiago de los Caballeros.

Expreso John F. Kennedy

The Expreso John F Kennedy is an urban express corridor parallel to the Expreso 27 de Febrero crossing all of

The Corridor does not cross the Ozama River, because it begins after that but is connected to Santo Domingo Este by the Avenue Quinto Centenario/San Vicente de Paul.

Corredor Duarte

As of 2011, the Ministry of Public Works and Communications (Ministro de Obras Publicas y Comunicaciones) is involved in the construction of a series of elevated viaducts along DR-1 from Los Alcarrizos to the Winston Churchill Avenue in Distrito Nacional in important intersections along the path. As of the present, overpasses are being constructed in the intersections of Expreso JFK-Defillo, Nunez De Cacerez Avenues and Autopista Duarte-Manoguayabo, and Monumental Avenues. The completion of this Corridor will make the highway express and alleviate the current congestion when entering the capital city. The completion of such viaducts will improve travel speeds for the motorist trying to travel between Santiago de los Caballeros and Santo Domingo. As of June 10, 2010, the project is in very advanced stages and said to be completed by the end of 2010. This project combined with the current construction of Line 2 of Santo Domingo Metro would be of great help for the crosstown commuters that live in Los Alcarrizos and Santo Domingo Oeste and need to travel east into the Distrito Nacional or Santo Domingo Este. Currently many traffic alterations and re-routing are taking place as these projects remain in construction causing temporary discomfort and delay to citizens.

Autopista Juan Pablo Duarte

The highway exits

As DR-1 enters the city of Santiago de los Caballeros, it abruptly ends meters in front of the Monument to the Heroes of Restoration. Before, a highway gap between Autopista Juan Pablo Duarte and Joaquín Balaguer of about 5 kilometers in distance through the city of Santiago had existed and the only alternative to this problem was exiting on Salvador Estrella Sadhala avenue and continuing northwest in the avenue until reaching a junction with the continuation of DR-1 from this point onward renamed as Joaquin Balaguer. The government has fixed this issue in 2014 with the construction of the Circunvalacion Norte avenue and has been completed. The Circunvalacion Norte deviates traffic by going around the north side of Santiago with exits to Licey/Moca, Gurabo and exits to the northern part of Santiago until it merges with Joaquin Balaguer near Navarette.

Autopista Joaquín Balaguer

After the interruption In Santiago de los Caballeros, the highway is renamed again for a third time as Autopista Joaquín Balaguer in honor of the former Dominican president. After Santiago the highway follows the

, Haiti.

Major intersections

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Cities	Major intersections	Distance from Santo Domingo
Santo Domingo	DR-3	0 km, begins here
Villa Altagracia	--	42 km
Piedra Blanca	DR-Route 17	66 km
Bonao	--	85 km
Concepción de la Vega	DR-Route 21	125 km
Santiago de los Caballeros	DR-Route 25, DR-Route 14	155 km
Villa Bisonó	DR-5	180 km
San Fernando de Monte Cristi	DR-Route 45	270 km, ends here

See also

• Highways and Routes in the Dominican Republic

Notes