Route nationale 1 (RN1) is a

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 ...

French Guiana French Guiana, or Guyane in French, is an Overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France located on the northern coast of South America in the Guianas and the West Indies. Bordered by Suriname to the west ...

, an overseas region and department of France in South America. The highway connects

Cayenne Cayenne (; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and capital city of French Guiana, an overseas region and Overseas department, department of France located in South America. The city stands on a former island at the mouth of the Caye ...

with

Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni (, ; ) is a commune of French Guiana, an overseas region and department of France located in South America. Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni is one of the three sub-prefectures of French Guiana and the seat of the Arrondissement ...

and measures . The highway is the busiest road of French Guiana.

Overview

In 1863, road construction started on Route Coloniale 1 to connect Cayenne with Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni. The road was built by prisoners of the

penal colony A penal colony or exile colony is a settlement used to exile prisoners and separate them from the general population by placing them in a remote location, often an island or distant colonial territory. Although the term can be used to refer ...

. Many prisoners died during the construction. In 1970s, the section connecting

Kourou Kourou (; ) is a commune in French Guiana, an overseas region and department of France in South America. Kourou is famous for being the location of the Guiana Space Centre, the main spaceport of France and the European Space Agency (ESA). It ...

with

Sinnamary Sinnamary (; ) is a town and commune on the coast of French Guiana, between Kourou and Iracoubo. Sinnamary was the second French settlement founded in French Guiana: the town was founded in 1664. Sinnamary lies on the Sinnamary River and is ...

was rerouted for the construction of the

Guiana Space Centre The Guiana Space Centre (; CSG), also called Europe's Spaceport, is a spaceport to the northwest of Kourou in French Guiana, an Overseas departments and regions of France, overseas region of France in South America. Kourou is located approxim ...

. In 1999, the road between Balata and Maringouins was widened to a 2x2 lanes dual carriageway. In 2014, a

grade-separated In civil engineering (more specifically highway engineering), grade separation is a method of aligning a junction of two or more surface transport axes at different heights ( grades) so that they will not disrupt the traffic flow on other tr ...

intersection with

Route nationale 2 The Route nationale 2 (N 2) is a route nationale in northern France. Route Paris-Soissons-Laon- La Capelle-''Belgium (N 6)'' History The N 2 was initially defined in 1811 as ''route impériale'' 2, running from Paris all the way to Amsterdam v ...

to Saint-Georges was opened. The busiest section is in Cayenne where 44,543 vehicles per day used the road in 2010.

Route

The highways begins in Cayenne. In Balata,

Matoury Matoury (; ) is a commune of French Guiana, an overseas region and department of France located in South America. Matoury is a southern suburb of Cayenne, the '' préfecture'' and largest city of French Guiana. Cayenne – Félix Eboué Air ...

, there is an intersection with Route National 2. The road continues to Kourou, makes a detour around the Guiana Space Centre, and continues to Sinnamary,

Iracoubo Iracoubo (; ) is a commune on the coast of French Guiana, an overseas region and department of France, located in South America. Geography The settlement of Iracoubo, seat of the commune, is located between the settlement of Sinnamary and th ...

, and finally ends in Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni. In Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni there is a ferry to Albina,

Suriname Suriname, officially the Republic of Suriname, is a country in northern South America, also considered as part of the Caribbean and the West Indies. It is a developing country with a Human Development Index, high level of human development; i ...

Future plans

There are plans for a bridge connecting Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni with Albina. The bridge was on the agenda in a ministerial meeting between

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and Suriname in November 2020. An interesting part about the bridge is that Suriname uses left-hand drive while French Guiana uses right-hand drive.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Roads in French Guiana