In the Dominican Republic, a transformative new infrastructure project, the Amber Highway, is poised to reshape transportation and economic activity across the country’s northern region, according to Teodoro Tejada, former president of the Dominican College of Engineers, Architects and Surveyors (CODIA).
Currently, the journey between the major cities of Santiago and Puerto Plata stretches approximately 90 minutes, and the existing route has gained an unfortunate reputation for a disproportionately high rate of deadly traffic collisions. Once the Amber Highway is fully completed and open to traffic, that travel time is projected to shrink to just 30 minutes, a dramatic reduction that will reshape how people and goods move between the two urban centers.
With a total investment of 28.8 billion Dominican pesos, the 32.7-kilometer four-lane project will link Santiago’s North Ring Road directly to Gran Parada in Puerto Plata. Engineered to accommodate travel speeds of up to 100 kilometers per hour, the highway incorporates thoughtful environmental planning: it will run through two purpose-built tunnels carved into the Northern Mountain Range, minimizing disruption to the fragile surrounding ecosystems that define the region’s natural landscape.
Beyond cutting travel times, the project’s design includes grade-separated interchanges that will eliminate dangerous at-grade crossings, smoothing traffic flow, cutting down on chronic congestion, and drastically improving overall road safety. Tejada emphasizes that these infrastructure improvements will not only make travel easier for local residents but also strengthen regional connectivity, attract more tourists to the popular northern coast, and lift the overall economic competitiveness of the entire northern Dominican Republic.