Route 1 is a
National Road
The National Road (also known as the Cumberland Road) was the first major improved highway in the United States built by the federal government. Built between 1811 and 1837, the road connected the Potomac and Ohio Rivers and was a main tran ...
in
Bolivia.
Route 1 connects the Aguas Blancas International Bridge on the Argentine border to
Desaguadero on the Peruvian border via
Tarija
Tarija or San Bernardo de la Frontera de Tarixa is a city in southern Bolivia. Founded in 1574, Tarija is the largest city and capital and municipality within the Tarija Department, with an airport ( Capitán Oriel Lea Plaza Airport, (TJA)) off ...
, Potosi, Oruro, and
La Paz.
Route description
Route 1 has a length of 1,168
kilometers and runs in a northwest-southeast direction. Starting in the town of
Bermejo, the road roughly follows the
Rio Bermejo, branching off at one of its tributaries. Running north to the town of
Padcaya, the road intersects Route 28 (Bolivia), and continues north into the valley surrounding Tarija, in which National Routes 45 and 11 meet.
After passing through Tarija as a parkway, the road continues, running west over the mountains to the rest of the city and meeting Route 20 in El Puente. Here, the highway bears north again, running through the Rio San Pedro. Bearing West again, the road intersects
National Route 14, and then enters
Potosi. In Potosi, Route 1 and Route 5 run concurrently through the city center, and Route 1 then continues northwest.
Continuing in this direction, Route 1 intersects Routes 32 and 30 near the town of
Challapata. Route 1 then runs along the edge of
Lago Poopo,
joining
Route 6 and entering
Oruro
Oruro (Hispanicized spelling) or Uru Uru is a city in Bolivia with a population of 264,683 (2012 calculation), about halfway between La Paz and Sucre in the Altiplano, approximately above sea level.
It is Bolivia's fifth-largest city by pop ...
. Joining the ring road, Route 1 continues for over 6 km
before leaving on an independent route. In the town of
Caracollo
Caracollo (hispanicized spelling), Q'araqullu or Q'ara Qullu (Aymara ''q'ara'' bald, ''qullu'' mountain, "bald mountain") is a small town in Bolivia. It is situated in the Cercado Province of the Oruro Department. In 2010 it had an estimated po ...
, Route 4 joins Route 1 and they remain concurrent for roughly 90 km
before splitting in the town of
Patyacama.
Continuing on, Route 1 continues roughly 90 km
again to La Paz, where Route 19 joins it. Near
El Alto International Airport
El Alto International Airport ( es, link=no, Aeropuerto Internacional El Alto) is an international airport serving La Paz, Bolivia. It is located in the city of El Alto, west of La Paz. At an elevation of , it is the highest international ...
, the road turns at a
cloverleaf interchange, running west. The road runs through
El Alto
El Alto (Spanish for "The Heights") is the second-largest city in Bolivia, located adjacent to La Paz in Pedro Domingo Murillo Province on the Altiplano highlands. El Alto is today one of Bolivia's fastest-growing urban centers, with an estimat ...
. Intersecting Route 2, the highway leaves the suburbs, and runs 95 km to Desaguadero.
History
The first section of this road to be paved was between Oruro and Machacamarca between 1975 and 1977. It was reconstructed in 1995.
This road was included in the Fundamental Road Network by Supreme Decree 25,134 of August 31, 1998.
References
{{National Roads in Bolivia
Roads in Bolivia