Freeway 1 (Iraq)

Freeway 1 (Arabic: طريق المرور السريع رقم 1) is the first and longest freeway in Iraq. It is 1,200 kilometres (750 mi) long. It extends from Umm Qasr Port in Basra to Ar Rutba in Anbar, where it spreads into a new freeway with same number towards Syria and Jordan.

Freeway 1
١ طريق المرور السريع رقم
M1
Map Route of the Freeway 1
Route information
Part of
Length	1,200 km (750 mi)
Existed	1990–present
Location
Country	Iraq
Highway system
Highways in Iraq

The part of the freeway from Nasiriyah to Al Diwaniyah is a single carriageway, because the second carriageway has not been completed.

History

After a visit to the United States in 1983, Saddam Hussein was fascinated by the extensive Interstate and Highway network in the USA and wanted a similar endeavour for Iraq. Thus started construction on the Freeway and Highway Network of Iraq, which led to large interchange constructions and paving of roads across the country. In the following years, multiple smaller branch freeways were constructed alongside the main route 1 like the M31 linking Central Basra and the M97 Central Baghdad to the M1.

Major cities along the route

• Basrah
• Nasiriyah
• Al Diwaniyah
• Al Hillah
• Baghdad
• Fallujah
• Habbaniyah
• Ramadi
• Ar Rutba