# MacArthur Highway

The MacArthur Highway, officially the Manila North Road (MNR or MaNor), is a 685-kilometer (426 mi), 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 WW2 and the Korean War, Douglas MacArthur.

## Route description

Manila North Road is a toll-free, two- to eight-lane national road that stretches for 684.855 kilometers (425.549 mi) from the Bonifacio Monument (Monumento) Circle in Caloocan, north of Manila, to the northern province of Cagayan, passing through three cities in Metro Manila (Caloocan, Malabon, and Valenzuela), three provinces of Central Luzon (Bulacan, Pampanga and Tarlac), four provinces of the Ilocos Region (Pangasinan, La Union, Ilocos Sur, and Ilocos Norte), and the province of Cagayan in the Cagayan Valley region. The highway parallels the North Luzon Expressway from Epifanio de los Santos Avenue (EDSA) 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 (N1) 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 (AH26) of the Asian highway network. The rest of the route from Guiguinto to Laoag is entirely designated as the National Route 2 (N2) 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 (Route 3A); the highway's section from Caloocan to Valenzuela (formerly Polo) 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

* AH 26 (N1) (EDSA) / AH 26 (N120) (Samson Road) / N150 (Rizal Avenue Extension) in Caloocan. Southern terminus of the highway.
* E5 (NLEX Harbor Link) in Karuhatan, Valenzuela
* N118 (Maysan Road) in Malinta, Valenzuela

### Bulacan

* N117 in Meycauayan
* E1 (Tabang Spur Road) / N1 in Tabang, Guiguinto. Transition from N1 to N2. Southern terminus of N2.
* N115 in Calumpit

### Pampanga

* N3 in San Fernando
* N216 in Angeles
* N217 in Angeles (two northern termini)
* N215 in Angeles
* E1 (Clark Spur Road) in Mabiga, Mabalacat
* N213 in Mabalacat
* E1 (SCTEX) in Dolores, Mabalacat

### Tarlac

* N213 in Capas
* N55 at Tarlac City
* N58 in Santo Cristo, Tarlac City
* N242 in Paniqui (two eastern termini; intersects thrice)

### Pangasinan

* N56 / N212 in Rosales
* N57 in Urdaneta. Official northern end of MacArthur Highway section on Manila North Road.
* E1 (TPLEX) in Urdaneta
* N210 in Binalonan
* E1 (TPLEX) in Pozorrubio

### La Union

* N54 (Kennon Road) at Camp 1, Rosario. Northern terminus of R-9.
* E1 (TPLEX) / N209 (Pugo–Rosario Road) at Subusub, Rosario
* N209 in Rosario (two southern termini)
* N208 in Agoo
* N55 in Agoo
* N54 at Bauang
* N219 in San Fernando
* N249 in San Fernando
* N218 in San Fernando
* N249 in San Fernando
* N249 in San Juan

### Ilocos Sur

* N218 in Tagudin
* N244 in Candon (northern and southern termini)
* N203 in Narvacan
* N204 in Narvacan
* N203 in Narvacan
* N202 in Bantay
* N201 in Cabugao

### Ilocos Norte

* N200 in Currimao
* N122 in Currimao
* N100 in Laoag. Northern terminus of N2. Transition to N1/AH26.
* N122 in Bacarra

### Cagayan

* N223 in Abulug
* N121 in Abulug
* AH 26 (N1) in Aparri. Transition from N1/AH26 to unnumbered tertiary road.