# Highway I–16 (Cuba)

Highway I–16, split into 3–I–16 and 4–I–16, is a bypass of the Circuito Sur (I–2), going from Jagüey Grande to Real Campiña in Cuba. It is the main road of the towns of Australia, Playa Larga, Playa Girón, and Covadonga.

## History

During the Bay of Pigs Invasion, American forces mostly had power and were mostly fighting on the road of Covadonga (4–I–16) and the road of Yaguaramas (4–I–22). After the Americans left, the road looked like a “dystopian film”, with a bus seen on fire while heading into the town of Covadonga.
In March 2022, the migration of the Red land crab in the region led to a dangerous hazard on the road and anyone driving on it, with the 30 kilometer stretch between the towns of Playa Larga and Playa Girón being the worst, said by an alert by the Municipal Assembly of People's Power of Ciénaga de Zapata.

## Route

The I–16 starts as 3–I–16 in Jagüey Grande, Matanzas Province, from the Circuito Sur (3–I–2) which goes south to an at-grade intersection with the Autopista Nacional (National Motorway), and keeps going south into the towns of Australia and Playa Larga, in which it reaches the southern coast of Cuba in the Bay of Pigs, where it then follows the coastline going southeast until the town of Playa Girón. In Playa Girón, the I–22 highway also begins, in the same route of the I–16, which both goes north to the town of Helechal and later San Blas, where they split at a y-junction, with the I–16 going north and I–22 going east. After this, the road goes into Cienfuegos Province, where it turns into the 4–I–16, and into the town of Covadonga (officially Antonio Sanchez), where it turns northeast to the town of Real Campiña, back at the Circuito Sur (now 4–I–2).

## Junction list

| Municipality | Location | km | mi | Destination | Notes |
| Jagüey Grande | Jagüey Grande | 0 | 0 | 3–I–2 (Circuito Sur / Calle 58) | Continues as Calle 15 (Calle Reyes) northbound, and starts from Calle 13 (Calle Cespedes) southbound |
| Jagüey Grande | Jagüey Grande | 1.27 | 0.79 | Jagüey Grande Beltway | |
| Jagüey Grande | Jagüey Grande town limits | 1.75 | 1.09 | A1 (Nacional) – Havana, Santa Clara | Exit name “Jagüey Grande” and “Playa Larga” on the A1 |
| Jagüey Grande | Australia | 2.91 | 1.81 | ? | Major one way street without a name on OpenStreetmap |
| Ciénaga de Zapata | | 20.28 | 12.6 | Service center La Boca | Service center La Boca |
| Ciénaga de Zapata | Playa Larga | 29.50 | 18.33 | Calle 1ra | Western terminus of 4 lane section with median |
| Ciénaga de Zapata | Playa Larga | 30.26 | 18.80 | Policlincio Playa Larga | Policlincio Playa Larga |
| Ciénaga de Zapata | Playa Larga | 30.43 | 18.91 | Return | Return roundabout with itself |
| Ciénaga de Zapata | | 31.24 | 19.41 | | Western terminus of 4 lane section with median |
| Ciénaga de Zapata | | 33.18 | 20.62 | Road to Soplillar | |
| Ciénaga de Zapata | | 62.74 | 38.99 | ? | Major 4 lane street without a name on OpenStreetmap |
| Ciénaga de Zapata | Playa Girón | 63.68 | 39.57 | Aerodromo Playa Girón | |
| Ciénaga de Zapata | Playa Girón | 64.18 | 39.88 | Calle 10 – Mueso de Playa Girón | |
| Ciénaga de Zapata | Playa Girón | 64.55 | 40.11 | 3–I–22 / Road of Caleta Buena / Playa Los Cocos Road | Western terminus of concurrency with 3–I–22 |
| Ciénaga de Zapata | Helechal | 72.55 | 45.08 | Road of Cayo Ramona | |
| Ciénaga de Zapata | San Blas | 78.79 | 48.95 | 3–I–22 | Y intersection; Eastern terminus of concurrency with 3–I–22; Western terminus of unpaved section |
| Ciénaga de Zapata - Aguada de Pasajeros municipal border | | 88.43 | 54.95 | 3–I–16 / 4–I–16 | Western terminus of 3–I–16; Eastern terminus of 4–I–16; Eastern terminus of unpaved section |
| Aguada de Pasajeros | Covadonga | 95.10 | 59.09 | Road to the Antonio Sanchez Sugar Mill | |
| Aguada de Pasajeros | Covadonga | 97.49 | 60.58 | ? | Unnamed major street on OpenStreetMap |
| Aguada de Pasajeros | Real Campiña | 108.49 | 67.41 | 4–I–2 (Circuito Sur) | |