Road Town

Capital town and port in the British Virgin Islands, in the West Indies, on the south coast of Tortola; population (1995 est) 3,000. Situated on Road Harbour, it trades in fish, poultry, and vegetables. An area known as Wickland's Cay, 27 ha/67 acres, was joined to the mainland as part of a land reclamation project undertaken to develop tourism.

The name of the town derives from ‘the roads’, a nautical term referring to a place less sheltered than a harbour but in which ships may lie at anchor. Tides have periodically damaged the town, and the oldest extant buildings date from 1840, although some water cisterns are older.