National Highway 1 (Djibouti)
The RN-1 National Highway is the longest Djiboutian road, at about 218 kilometres (135 mi) and stretches the suburbs of Djibouti City, along through the Arta Mountains Valleys, along the Grand and Small Bara Desert, through the Hanle plain, and until Galafi and the western border with Ethiopia, where it connects with RN-2 National Highway and RN-3 National Highway. It is an important highway running along the southern entire country. RN-1 National Highway passes through the regions of Djibouti Region, Arta Region, Ali Sabieh Region and Dikhil Region.
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| Arabic: الطريق السريع الوطنى 1 French: Route Nationale 1 | |
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| Route information | |
| Length | 218 km (135 mi) |
| Major junctions | |
| From | Djibouti City |
| To | Galafi |
| Location | |
| Major cities | We`a, Mouloud, Dagguirou, Dikhil, Gorabous, Yoboki |
| Highway system | |
| Transport in Djibouti | |
The highway is heavily traveled by Ethiopian trucks.[1]
History
It was on June 28, 1974, the date of an agreement between French Territory of the Afars and the Issas and Ethiopia, that the construction of a road between Dikhil and Galafi was decided with an extension of 30 km to the Ethiopian A1 road (connecting Assab and Addis Ababa). The works were financed by France and carried out between 1975 and 1976 by the COLAS Road Company (130 km including 30 in Ethiopia). However, it was not until the fall of the Ethiopian military regime in 1991 that the border was opened at the Galafi border post.