The Caracas-La Guaira highway is a freeway that connects Caracas, the capital of Venezuela, to the port city of La Guaira. It is the primary route between Caracas and the coast, including the main international airport, Simón Bolívar International Airport. The highway was constructed from January 1950 and was finished by the end of 1953 with a huge cost. It was originally a toll road. The 20-mile highway replaced two tortuous two-lane roads through the mountains and reduced the trip between its endpoints from several hours to half an hour. The entire highway has four lanes.