Churchill–Roosevelt Highway

It runs for 35 km (22 mi) from Barataria in the west (where it joins the Beetham Highway) to Wallerfield in the east (south of Arima) where it ends in the former US Army base on Fort Read.

Constructed during World War II to connect the US Army base with Port of Spain, the highway was named for the two wartime leaders, Winston Churchill and Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Work began almost immediately, with the highway forever bisecting rural communities like St. Augustine, El Socorro and Tacarigua.

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.

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).

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.

There are currently plans to extend the Churchill–Roosevelt Highway from Wallerfield to Manzanilla as a fully grade separated four-lane expressway.

[2] 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.

[3] Much of the highway suffers from congestion due to an aging collection of traffic lights on most major junctions.