Late last week, Vice President of the Dominican Republic Raquel Peña announced the construction of the Ambar Expressway, a modern highway that will considerably cut travel time to Puerto Plata from Santiago.
The 40 km new road would connect the Santiago Bypass (Km 18 Circunvalación Norte) with La Gran Parada near Montellano in Puerto Plata on the north coast, some five km east of the Playa Dorada hotel complex. It would mean easy access to beach destinations in Playa Dorada, Sosua and Cabarete.
The Ambar Highway would place Puerto Plata just a 25 minute drive from Santiago, making it easy to arrive by the well-served Cibao International Airport.
Financing for the construction will be provided by the “complementary budget” that was recently sent to Congress, and that assigns an additional 20% to public works.
At the present time, access from the Cibao Valley to the north shore and its tourist attractions is limited to four main routes.
The main route goes west from Santiago to Navarrete and then crosses the Northern Mountain Range, following the old route of the Central Railroad that began construction in the late 1800s and was completed in the early 20th century. It connected Puerto Plata with Moca via Santiago. The major feature was the tunnel carved into the mountain at Altamira. Any search for pictures relating to the US Occupation 1916-1924 will show this rail line being used and maintained by US Marines.
Previous to that rail line, there was a trail, later a dirt road, and now a nice, paved road from Santiago to Puerto Plata, called the “Tourist Highway.” It is the scenic route to go to either Sosua or Puerto Plata with lots of vistas and curves.
Then comes the road to Jamao, via San Victor, Moca. A very curvy, up and down roadway of the early 20th Century that still serves the province of Espaillat.
Finally, there is a tiny road that goes from Tenares, near San Francisco de Macoris, to Gaspar Hernandez. It is nearly impassable today, but there are plans to repave the surface.
The Ambar Expressway will be the fourth access route, with expanded lanes and a shorter distance.
President Luis Abinader had mentioned the construction of the Amber Highway in his inaugural address on 16 August 2020. At the time, he said the road would be built by a public-private partnership.
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El Caribe
8 September 2025