Hi,

We're headed to Belize in late March/early April and I was wondering if the Western Highway is a paved road and if not, what is its condition?

Thx!

Rick

it's paved, but don't expect the I-5 and watch out for those silent police

probably took a hit with the rains of last few days too - anybody know hopw bad?

.....from another thread
The Western highway, one of the main arteries connecting the northern and central part of Belize with the capital, Belmopan, was shut down for several hours today following flooding in the Mount Pleasant area, about 5 miles from Belmopan. A passenger bus and a truck were swept off the highway by raging floodwaters. All passengers were evacuated to safety.

According to the broadcast they are going to build a bridge at the location of the washover using an old bridge that they took out from Beaver Creek in the last flood.

The road isn't in all that bad of condition...considering. Its closer to town that you hit the gigantic crater potholes. On the Northern highway, giant man eating potholes are near Brodies and on the Western highway close to town. Also, don't forget Mile 8, which is often overlooked, the water was right up to the edge of the road yesterday (Friday).

We took the hwy to Plancencia. We could not take the direct rt. We went through Belmopan and didnt have a problem. The trip is a beautiful one during the day. You will see Orange, Grapefruit, Lemon and Banana orchards along the road and into the hill side. If you travel at night, there are no street lights at night and most people dont have electicity, so you cant tell if you enter a Village untill you are in one. People in the Villages walk along the hwy and they can be hard to see at night...please use caution.

My father and I just returned from a two week stay and we rode the Western HWY daily on the public buses. We stayed in Ontario Village and rode the busses back and forth to Belmopan, Belize City, Santa Elana and San Ignacio. It reminded us of some of the Highways in Kentucky that we used to travel - the road is paved,with a few pot holes,and no paint or road reflectors. NO traffic lights, and only a few stop signs in the entire country that we saw. No street lights either - so we did not venture out much after dark. Watch out for those pesky "Pedestrian Ramps" they are like speed bumps on steriods!

Um - come to think of it maybe the pedestrian ramps are far more effective than all of the lights, lanes, and road signs that we have here in the States. Why spend all of that money, energy, and effort on law enforcement and court systems, when you just have the ramps that will disable any vehicle that refuses to slow down? Maybe we ought to build a few of those around here!

good one kuntrygirl

Just came in on the Western Highway and its all fixed up now.

hey silk! wherethehellubeen?