Churchill–Roosevelt Highway
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The Churchill–Roosevelt Highway, sometimes refers to as CRH, is the major east–west
highway A highway is any public or private road or other public way on land. It includes not just major roads, but also other public roads and rights of way. In the United States, it is also used as an equivalent term to controlled-access highway, or ...
on
Trinidad Trinidad is the larger, more populous island of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, the country. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is the southernmost island in ...
island in
Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago, officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean, comprising the main islands of Trinidad and Tobago, along with several List of islands of Trinidad and Tobago, smaller i ...
. It runs for from Barataria in the west (where it joins the
Beetham Highway The Beetham Highway is a major highway in Trinidad and Tobago. It runs from downtown Port of Spain where it meets Wrightson Road to Barataria (where it connects with the Churchill-Roosevelt Highway). It was constructed between 1955 and 1956. ...
) to
Wallerfield Wallerfield is a residential and industrial area east of Arima in Trinidad and Tobago. It served as Waller Air Force Base, and since the closure of U.S. Army base in May 1949 it became the informal home of various types of racing (using former a ...
in the east (south of
Arima Arima, officially The Royal Chartered Borough of Arima is the easternmost and second largest in area of the three boroughs of Trinidad and Tobago. It is geographically adjacent to Sangre Grande and Arouca at the south central foothills of the ...
) where it ends in the former
US Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...
base on
Fort Read Cumuto is a town on the island of Trinidad in Trinidad and Tobago. It is located east of Sangre Grande and south of Arima. It lies within the Sangre Grande region. History Between 1940 and 1956 much of Cumuto was part of the American army bas ...
. It crosses the north–south
Uriah Butler Highway The Uriah Butler Highway, sometimes referred to as UBH, is one of the major north–south highways on Trinidad in Trinidad and Tobago. It is named after Tubal Uriah Butler. It runs from Champs Fleurs to Chaguanas where it meets the Sir Solomon ...
(UBH) at
Valsayn Valsayn is a town in Trinidad and Tobago. It is located along the East–West Corridor in northern Trinidad between the Eastern Main Road, Uriah Butler Highway, Churchill–Roosevelt Highway and Curepe. Valsayn consists of a small number of luxu ...
. Constructed during
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
to connect the US Army base with
Port of Spain Port of Spain ( ; Trinidadian and Tobagonian English, Trinidadian English: ''Port ah Spain'' ) is the capital and chief port of Trinidad and Tobago. With a municipal population of 49,867 (2017), an urban population of 81,142 and a transient dail ...
, the highway was named for the two wartime leaders,
Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...
and
Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...
. Construction began in December 1941 and was completed in March 1942. Originally reserved for the US armed forces, the road was turned over to the Government of Trinidad and Tobago on 24 October 1949.


Description

The Churchill–Roosevelt Highway can be considered the most important highway in the country, running alongside the densely populated
East-West Corridor East West (or East and West) may refer to: *East–West dichotomy, the contrast between Eastern and Western society or culture Arts and entertainment Books, journals and magazines *'' East, West'', an anthology of short stories written by Salm ...
, with an estimated population of 600,000. Because of this, it is often extremely congested.


Route

The Churchill-Roosevelt highway begins at the Barataria interchange, where it becomes the Beetham Highway heading west into Port of Spain. The highway then passes south of San Juan and through El Socorro/Aranguez. Soon after the Aranguez overpass, the highway intersects with the north-south Uriah Butler Highway just west of Valsayn. The highway continues eastwards past Curepe, St. Augustine, Tunapuna and Trincity. At the Piarco intersection, BWIA Boulevard provides direct access to the
Piarco International Airport Piarco International Airport is an international airport serving the island of Trinidad and is one of two international airports in Trinidad and Tobago. The airport is east of Downtown Port of Spain, in the suburban town of Piarco. The airpor ...
, south of the highway. The highway then continues past Maloney, Mausica and Arima. The highway terminates at a junction with Antigua Road in Wallerfield.


Features

Despite being one of the most important highways in the country, it is not entirely grade separated. Every major intersection after Curepe is signalized, leading to gridlock traffic congestion during peak times. The Barataria interchange connects to Morvant and Barataria via a connector road, while the Aranguez and Curepe interchanges are simple overpasses. The Grand Bazaar interchange is the largest and most important of the interchanges on the entire highway system, where it crosses the Uriah Butler Highway. The highway is a six lane dual carriageway from Barataria to Mausica, and then narrows to four4 lanes before terminating at Wallerfield. However some sections of the highway contain additional lanes and divided frontage roads. At the Grand Bazaar interchange, the underpass is two lanes westward and three lanes eastward with the north to west and east to south ramps respectively carrying two lanes each, hence there being as many as nine lanes on the highway at this point. There is also a frontage road on the eastbound lane from Valpark to Grand Bazaar, which provides access to Bamboo No. 2 and 3, as well as the exits to the northbound and southbound lanes of the Uriah Butler Highway from the east. At this point, the highway carries as much as ten lanes due to an additional two lanes on the westbound lane for merging purposes. At the Curepe interchange, divided frontage roads also add to the number of lanes, with as much as ten lanes. After these major interchanges, additional lanes are only joined to the highway at junctions for turning or merging. There are nine pedestrian overpasses along the course of the highway between Barataria and Arima.


Exit list

The following table lists the major junctions along the Churchill–Roosevelt Highway. The entire route is located in Trinidad.


History

When WWII commenced, Trinidad became an important strategic point in the war effort. Through the Bases Agreement signed by British prime minister, Sir
Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...
, and the US president,
Franklin Delano Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...
, Britain got 50 old American destroyers, and the US was granted the right to establish bases in the British Territories. Although the US Army had several bases on the island by 1941, the most important were Chaguaramas and the Air Base at Wallerfield, called
Fort Read Cumuto is a town on the island of Trinidad in Trinidad and Tobago. It is located east of Sangre Grande and south of Arima. It lies within the Sangre Grande region. History Between 1940 and 1956 much of Cumuto was part of the American army bas ...
. The road communications between the Port of Spain (POS) and Fort Read near
Cumuto Cumuto is a town on the island of Trinidad in Trinidad and Tobago. It is located east of Sangre Grande and south of Arima. It lies within the Sangre Grande region. History Between 1940 and 1956 much of Cumuto was part of the American army bas ...
was difficult as it consisted solely of the crowded Eastern Main Road, which slowed down the large convoys moving between the two bases. The decision was made in 1941 to build a military two lane paved road between Fort Read and the Morvant Junction of the Eastern Main Road just outside POS (the extension of the highway, the Beetham Highway, was not built until the 1950s.) Work began almost immediately, with the highway bisecting rural communities like St. Augustine, El Socorro and Tacarigua. Many crop farmers had to be moved as bulldozers ploughed the course. This era in history is documented in Samuel Selvon's classic novel, ''A Brighter Sun'', where an inexperienced Indian youth is thrust headlong into the highway-building process. When the road was opened in 1942, it was the finest road in the island, being smooth and pothole free from end to end. It was not immediately asphalted, as it was pressed into service for the convoys almost as soon as the way was graded (a stark contrast to the island's roads today). Wilson Minshall, father of ''masman''
Peter Minshall Peter Minshall (born 16 July 1941) is a Trinidadian carnival artist (described colloquially in Trinidad and Tobago as a "mas-man"). He has been the artistic director for the opening ceremonies of three Olympic Games: Barcelona (1992), Atlanta ...
, remarked “The new Roosevelt–Churchill Highway has swept across the country from Cumuto to a point near Laventille with the force of a flood rushing into a quiet valley. Cleared and graded but not yet surfaced, its naked earth weaves and interweaves protesting patterns under the wheels of army trucks and construction tractors that cannot wait until the road is finished. Opened in 1942 and reserved exclusively for military traffic, with exceptions being made for top-ranking civil service personnel. Military police in jeeps constantly patrolled the 15 mile road looking for violators. The highway was finally opened up for civilian use on 4 October 1949.


Auxiliary routes

* EMR/CRH Link/Lady Young Road South - This route provides access to Lady Young Road, an alternative route into Port of Spain, and the Eastern Main Road at Barataria. * Aranguez/El Socorro Access Road - This route provides access to El Socorro North from the Aranguez Overpass. * Churchill Roosevelt Highway Frontage Road - This route runs alongside the westbound lane of the highway at Valsayn, providing access to the southbound and northbound ramps and connecting Bamboo No. 2 with Grand Bazaar and the westbound lane of the highway.


Planned extensions and upgrades

There are currently plans to extend the Churchill–Roosevelt Highway from Wallerfield to Manzanilla as a fully grade separated four-lane expressway. These plans have begun with the widening of the highway from Mausica to Maloney to six-lanes, and construction of the section that bisects the Aripo Savanna. Much of the highway suffers from congestion due to an aging collection of traffic lights on most major junctions. There are plans to convert the entire highway into a grade separated expressway including the construction of new interchanges. Notable are the Uriah Butler Highway interchange just west of Valsayn and the Curepe Interchange at the intersection with the Southern Main Road.


References

* * https://www.opm.gov.tt/16544-2/ {{DEFAULTSORT:Churchill-Roosevelt Highway Roads in Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad (island) Transport infrastructure completed in 1942 1940s establishments in Trinidad and Tobago 1942 establishments in North America