Updated

The Inter-American Development Bank is awarding Haiti a $53 million grant to upgrade a stretch of one of the Caribbean nation's major roads.

The bulk of the money will go toward renovating a 16.4-mile (26.2-kilometer) strip of road between the western port city of Gonaives and the town of Ennery. The road connects the capital of Port-au-Prince with Haiti's second largest city, Cap-Haitien.

The grant will also help finance a ministry that oversees road maintenance, road safety and other transportation matters, along with the ports department.

Many of Haiti's roads are degraded by potholes or barely exist in remote areas. The impoverished nation's infrastructure was damaged further in the earthquake nearly three years ago when thousands of buildings collapsed.

The IDB made the announcement Wednesday.