MacArthur Highway


The MacArthur Highway, officially the Manila North Road, is a, two-to-six lane, national primary highway and tertiary highway in Luzon, Philippines, connecting Caloocan in Metro Manila to Aparri in Cagayan at the north. It is the second longest road in the Philippines, after the Pan-Philippine Highway. It is primarily known as MacArthur Highway in segments from Caloocan to Urdaneta, Pangasinan, although it is also applied up to Ilocos Sur and called Manila North Road for the entire length. It was named after the top American general commander during World War II and the Korean War, Douglas MacArthur.

Route description

Manila North Road is a toll-free, two- to eight-lane national road that stretches for from the Bonifacio Monument Circle in Caloocan, north of Manila, to the northern province of Cagayan, passing through three cities in Metro Manila, three provinces of Central Luzon, four provinces of the Ilocos Region, and the province of Cagayan in the Cagayan Valley region. The highway parallels the North Luzon Expressway from Epifanio de los Santos Avenue to Mabalacat, the Subic–Clark–Tarlac Expressway from Mabalacat to Tarlac City, and the Tarlac–Pangasinan–La Union Expressway from Tarlac City to Rosario.
The entire road consists of a series of route numbering systems by the Department of Public Works and Highways. From Caloocan to Guiguinto and from Laoag to Aparri, it is the component of National Route 1 of the Philippine highway network, although N1 is not signposted in the first part of the highway; the latter section is also part of the Pan-Philippine Highway or Asian Highway 26 of the Asian highway network. The rest of the route from Guiguinto to Laoag is entirely designated as the National Route 2 of the Philippine highway network. Particularly its section in Metro Manila, it is also a component of R-9 of Manila's arterial road network. Its remaining section in Aparri is classified as an unnumbered, tertiary road.

Alternative names

Manila North Road's section from Caloocan to Urdaneta, Pangasinan is officially recognized as MacArthur Highway, although it is also known as such in La Union and Ilocos Sur. Its section that forms part of N1/AH26 from Laoag to Aparri is also known as Maharlika Highway and part of Laoag–Allacapan Road.
Through the city proper of San Fernando, La Union, the road is locally known as Quezon Avenue. In Laoag, it forms part of Laoag–Paoay Road between Laoag Airport Road and at the city proper, it is locally known as J.P. Rizal Avenue and Gen. Segundo Avenue, respectively.

History

The highway was built in sections beginning in 1928 during the American colonial period. It followed much of the route of the old Manila Railroad line from Manila to Dagupan. It was designated Highway 3 or Route 3 in early U.S. military records. It also reached south up to Manila through the present-day alignment of Rizal Avenue ; the highway's section from Caloocan to Valenzuela was once part of Rizal Avenue Extension. However, Highway 3 had different alignments: in Valenzuela, it used a route still existing today in barangay Malanday; in Bulacan, it went along the Maharlika Highway and Pulilan Regional Road from Guiguinto to Calumpit via Pulilan; in San Fernando and Angeles, Pampanga, it is known as the Old Manila North Road; and in Paniqui, Tarlac, it followed Paniqui Poblacion Road. New alignments were eventually developed, forming the present-day Manila North Road, which, by the 1950s, extended to Aparri in Cagayan, incorporating the former Cagayan–Ilocos Norte Road.
On June 17, 1961, the section of the Manila North Road from Caloocan to Urdaneta, alongside the western road that leads to Lingayen, was renamed MacArthur Highway in honor of the Liberator of the Philippines during World War II, General Douglas MacArthur.
In 1991, the highway was affected by the eruption of Mount Pinatubo, with the collapse of the Bamban Bridge, which carried it over the Sacobia River at the Tarlac–Pampanga provincial boundary, effectively disconnecting it. It was subsequently rehabilitated after the eruption, with the construction of the new Bamban Bridge from 1996 to 1998.

Intersections

Metro Manila

  • in Caloocan. Southern terminus of the highway.
  • in Karuhatan, Valenzuela
  • in Malinta, Valenzuela

    Bulacan

  • in Meycauayan
  • in Tabang, Guiguinto. Transition from N1 to N2. Southern terminus of N2.
  • in Calumpit

    Pampanga

  • in San Fernando
  • in Angeles
  • in Angeles
  • in Angeles
  • in Mabiga, Mabalacat
  • in Mabalacat
  • in Dolores, Mabalacat

    Tarlac

  • in Capas
  • at Tarlac City
  • in Santo Cristo, Tarlac City
  • in Paniqui

    Pangasinan

  • in Rosales
  • in Urdaneta. Official northern end of MacArthur Highway section on Manila North Road.
  • in Urdaneta
  • in Binalonan
  • in Pozorrubio

    La Union

  • at Camp 1, Rosario. Northern terminus of R-9.
  • at Subusub, Rosario
  • in Rosario
  • in Agoo
  • in Agoo
  • at Bauang
  • in San Fernando
  • in San Fernando
  • in San Fernando
  • in San Fernando
  • in San Juan

    Ilocos Sur

  • in Tagudin
  • in Candon
  • in Narvacan
  • in Narvacan
  • in Narvacan
  • in Bantay
  • in Cabugao

    Ilocos Norte

  • in Currimao
  • in Currimao
  • in Laoag. Northern terminus of N2. Transition to N1/AH26.
  • in Bacarra

    Cagayan

  • in Abulug
  • in Abulug
  • in Aparri. Transition from N1/AH26 to unnumbered tertiary road.

    Landmarks

This is from its south end at the Bonifacio Monument in Caloocan, to its north end at Aparri, Cagayan

Bridges