The Beetham Highway is a major
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 ...
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 from downtown
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 ...
where it meets
Wrightson Road
Wrightson Road, named after Walsh Wrightson, British engineer and Director of the Public Works Department (1897–1907), links downtown Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago with the Audrey Jeffers Highway. It runs from the area of the Eric William ...
to
Barataria (where it connects with the
Churchill-Roosevelt Highway). It was constructed between 1955 and 1956. The highway was named for former
Governor
A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...
Sir Edward Betham Beetham.
In January 2009, world boxing champion
Giselle Salandy
Joenette Giselle Ife Salandy ORTT (25 January 1987 – 4 January 2009) was a Trinidadian professional boxer. She was an undefeated unified light middleweight world champion, holding the WBA and WBC, as well as the IWBF, WIBA, WIBF, and GBU ...
died after a
car crash
A traffic collision, also known as a motor vehicle collision, or car crash, occurs when a vehicle collides with another vehicle, pedestrian, animal, road debris, or other moving or stationary obstruction, such as a tree, pole or building. T ...
at Beetham Highway.
Description
Route
The highway is fairly short, running for only 4.8 km from Barataria to Port of Spain. The highway runs alongside
Beetham Gardens, an economically depressed area that is the source of many incidents on the highway. It is bounded to the south by the Caroni Swamp and Beetham Landfill.
Features
The Beetham Highway is a six lane freeway with 2 notable grade separated interchanges at Barataria and St. Joseph Road, the latter of which serves as a direct connection to Independence Square. The other two intersections on the highway are at Central Market and Broadway.
Exit List
The following table lists the major junctions along the Beetham Highway. The entire route is located in Trinidad.
Incidents
On 4 July 2022, a large blockage occurred on the highway due to protests against a police related shooting that resulted in the deaths of three residents. The Eastern Main Road, Priority Bus Route and Lady Young Road were blocked concurrently.
Description
References
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Roads in Trinidad and Tobago
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