Major roads in Metro Manila
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Metro Manila has a very extensive roadway system connecting the cities and municipalities of the metropolis and its surrounding provinces. The major roadways are the ten radial roads, braching from the capital city of Manila, and the five circumferential roads, which form semicircles around the city of Manila. It should be known that the Radial and Circumferential roads are not 'existing roads', per se, but are labels that connect existing roads, so that they serve as guides.
[edit] Radial Roads
The ten radial roads serve the purpose of conveying traffic in and out of the city of Manila to the surrounding cities of the metropolis, and to the provinces.
R-1 begins as Del Pan in San Nicolas district. Del Pan becomes Bonifacio Drive after crossing the Pasig River. Bonifacio Drive is the major road of the Manila South Harbor, and of Intramuros, the walled city. It then continues on as President Manuel Roxas Boulevard, formerly known as Admiral Dewey Boulevard, which is famous for its grand hotels, exquisite yacht clubs, embassies, and most of all, the famed Manila sunset. The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (Central Bank of the Philippines), Museo Pambata (Children's Museum), Manila Yacht Club, the Embassy of the United States of America, and various seaside restaurants are on this road. The said boulevard has been the target of the beautification project of Manila mayor Lito Atienza. R-1 then continues to skirt the Manila bay coastline of the cities of Pasay, Parañaque, and Las Pinas as the Manila-Cavite Expressway (formerly called Coastal Road and General Emilio Aguinaldo Highway). R-1 is the main road of the Ermita district of Manila, and connects it with Cavite province.
R-2 commences at the Manila City Hall in Intramuros as Taft Avenue, passing through the Ermita and Malate districts. LRT-1 is built on this road. Taft Avenue houses many government offices, the Manila campus of the University of the Philippines (University of the Philippines, Manila), and the Philippine General Hospital. Also located on Taft Avenue are the Philippine Women's University, Philippine Christian University, and De La Salle University-Manila. R-2 continues on to Pasay City. Its major attraction in Pasay City is the Cartimar Pet Market, the hangout of many pet lovers. After crossing EDSA (C-4), it continues on as President Elpidio Quirino Highway, passing through Parañaque and Las Piñas, on to Bacoor town of Cavite, where it ends at R-1. R-2 is the main road of the Malate district of Manila, and connects it with Cavite province.
R-3, also known as the President Sergio Osmeña, Sr. Highway all throughout its course in Metro Manila, is also one of the widest roads in the Philippines. It begins at C-2 in the Paco district. R-3 connects Manila with Calamba City, Laguna province. In its course in the metropolis, it passes through the cities of Manila, Makati, Pasay, Parañaque, and Muntinlupa. The highway has two service lanes. R-3 is a tollway, and is popularly called South Luzon Expressway (SLEX) among the Manilenos. From the Metro Manila-Laguna province border, it is then called Dr. Jose Protacio Rizal Highway, after the Philippines' national hero. R-3 connects Manila with Laguna province.
R-4 starts at the junction of Pedro Gil (Herran) St. and C-2 in Paco district. It then turns right on Tejeron (in Santa Ana district), then enters Makati, where it is known as Dr. Jose P. Rizal Avenue. After crossing C-4, it becomes the Guadalupe-Pateros Road. R-4 currently ends at its junction with C-5 in eastern Makati. An extension into Pasig up to the proposed C-6 is planned, still following the route of the Pasig (Napindan) River. An alternative routing of R-4 is along the parallel Kalayaan Avenue in Makati. R-4 may be rerouted onto the proposed Pasig River Expressway.
R-5 branches off from R-6/Ramon Magsaysay Blvd. in the Santa Mesa district of Manila as Victorio Mapa Boulevard. It then follows P. Sanchez St., crossing the San Juan River, and becomes Shaw Boulevard after entering Mandaluyong. Shaw Boulevard houses many of Metro Manila's shopping centers, including the Marketplace, Manuela's, Puregold, and the posh Shangri-La Plaza. In Pasig City, it then follows Pasig Blvd., officially ending at its junction with C-5. R-5 is planned to be extended across the Marikina River through Pasig up to the proposed C-6.
R-6 begins at C-1 as Legarda in the Sampaloc district. It is lined by the University of Manila, the Sampaloc Public Market, Arellano University and Sta. Catalina College. R-6 crosses C-2 and continues as the President Ramon Magsaysay Boulevard (formerly Santa Mesa Boulevard), then to San Juan and Quezon City as Aurora Boulevard. The route of the LRT-2 rail line follows R-6. In Marikina, R-6 continues along Marcos Highway into Antipolo in Rizal province. R-6 connects the San Miguel and Sampaloc districts with Rizal province.
R-7 starts from the Manila Metropolitan Theater and crosses the Pasig River at Quezon Bridge. R-7 follows Quezon Blvd. in Quiapo, turns right at Lerma, which merges into España Boulevard. España runs through the University of Santo Tomas and the Mabuhay Rotonda. From the Mabuhay Rotonda, it then continues on to Quezon City as Quezon Avenue. Quezon Avenue is one of the scenic and comfortable roads in the metropolis. It runs smoothly through the center of Quezon City, and is lined at the island by palm trees, and on the sides by offices, stores, and nightclubs. It continues on as Elliptical Road, and Don Mariano Marcos Highway (Commonwealth Avenue). It curves northward and eventually ends at Quirino Highway (one of the branches of R-8). Quirino Highway reaches up to Norzagaray, Bulacan. R-7 is the main road of the Sampaloc district of Manila, and connects it with Bulacan province.
R-8 splits off from R-7 in Santa Cruz district as Andalucia. The route then follows Dimasalang, and the continues on to Andres Bonifacio Avenue in Quezon City. R-8 splits just after the Balintawak cloverleaf into the Quirino Highway and the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX). R-8 is one of the main roads of the Santa Cruz district of Manila, and connects the latter with Bulacan through its two branches. The NLEX branch passes through Caloocan City and Valenzuela before leaving Metro Manila. The Quirino Highway branch passes through the Novaliches district of Quezon City before reaching Bulacan province.
R-9 starts from the Manila Metropolitan Theater, crosses the Pasig River at the McArthur Bridge, and then follows Rizal Avenue (Avenida) to the north. On Rizal Avenue, there is an abundance of stores. LRT-1 is built on this road. It continues on from Caloocan City as the Manila North Road, more popularly known as General Douglas MacArthur Highway, passing through Malabon and Valenzuela, and continues to the Central Luzon region. This is one of the main roads of the Santa Cruz district of Manila, and connects Manila with Bulacan province in the north.
R-10 begins in the San Nicolas district of Manila where it meets with CM Recto (C-1) and Del Pan (R-1). It continues north along the North Port through the Tondo district, and into Navotas town. At present, it formally ends at its intersection with C-4 in Navotas but may eventually be routed onto the proposed Manila-Bataan Coastal Road extension.
[edit] Circumferential Roads
The five circumferential roads are arranged semicircular in and around Metro Manila, so as to get traffic from the northern part to the southern part as easy as possible. There is also a new circumferential road, the C-6, which is being planned. The routes are described from north to south (clockwise).
C-1, which is better known as Claro M. Recto Avenue (formerly Azcarraga), starts from the Divisoria shopping district of Manila, passes through the Binondo and Quiapo districts, then turns sharply to the right to P. Casal St., just after passing the University of the East. P. Casal St. goes through the San Miguel district and then crosses the Pasig River at Ayala Bridge. It then becomes Ayala Blvd., passing by the Philippine Normal College and the Technological University of the Philippines. C-1 then merges onto P. Burgos where it connects back to Roxas Blvd. (R-1). C-1 is the main throughfare of the Binondo and Quiapo districts of Manila.
C-2 begins at R-10 in Tondo district, becomes Tayuman road in Sampaloc district, then continues on as Arsenio H. Lacson Avenue (formerly called Governor Forbes) as it skirts the old San Lazaro Hippodrome. It crosses R-6 (Ramon Magsaysay Boulevard) then becoming Nagtahan Boulevard. Nagtahan Boulevard crosses the Nagtahan bridge, the largest bridge of Pasig River, then becomes President Elpidio Quirino Avenue, which continues on until it reaches R-1 (President Manuel Roxas Boulevard), passing through the Paco and Malate districts.
C-3 is a route that runs just outside the border of the city of Manila. It runs eastward from R-10 in Navotas, passes through Caloocan City, and then as Sergeant Emilio Rivera St. after entering Quezon City. C-3 then turns southward along General Gregorio Araneta Avenue in Quezon City. General Gregorio Araneta Avenue (and C-3) suddenly ends just after entering San Juan. The C-3 routing is resumed at the intersection of Ayala Avenue and Senator Gil Puyat Avenue in Makati, going westward along Senator Gil Puyat Avenue until it ends at R-1 in Pasay City. The C-3 missing link from Makati through Mandaluyong to San Juan is currently planned as an elevated expressway.
C-4 is EDSA (main article). EDSA is one of the widest roads (10-lanes) in the Philippines, and with newly constructed flyovers, interchanges and U-turn slots, you can now drive along EDSA without encountering a single traffic light. It is 90% access-controlled.C-4 officially begins at R-10 in Navotas, passes through Malabon as Letre Road, and enters Caloocan City as Samson Road before becoming EDSA after crossing R-9/Rizal Avenue at Monumento. C-4 officially ends at R-1 in Pasay City but EDSA Extension, the southern part of EDSA, extends to the Diosdado Macapagal Boulevard, and ends at the rotonda of the SM Mall of Asia. The MRT-3 rail line follows the route of C-4. EDSA passes through Caloocan City, Quezon City, Mandaluyong, Makati, and Pasay City.
C-5 Is almost complete access-controlled, save for a few minor intersections. Currently, it officially starts at the intersection of C.P. Garcia Avenue and Katipunan Avenue within the University of the Philippines campus in Quezon City. Further north, Katipunan Avenue is a 2-lane secondary road which eventually intersects R-7/Commonwealth Avenue. C-5/Katipunan Avenue runs southward and passes through the exclusive schools of Ateneo de Manila University and Miriam College. After crossing R-6/Aurora Blvd., the routing is shifted onto Eulogio Rodriguez Jr. Avenue at Santolan Road. C-5/Eulogio Rodriguez Jr. Avenue continues southward into Pasig. In just south of Pasig Blvd. (R-5) and just north of Pasig River, C-5 is called Carlos P. Garcia Avenue and it passes through a small portion of Makati, then in Taguig. In Taguig portion, it passes by the Fort Bonifacio Global City, then turns westward and formally ends at its junction with R-3/South Luzon Expressway at the boundary between Taguig and Pasay City. Extensions of C-5 to the north and south are being planned. In the north, C-5 will be extended along Luzon Avenue (northward) and Republic Avenue (westward) alignments until it reaches the North Luzon Expressway and McArthur Highway (R-9), passing through northern Quezon City and Valenzuela. A further expansion to R-10 in Navotas is also being planned. In the south, C-5 will also be extended to R-1/Manila-Cavite Expressway, passing just south of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3. It is the main artery of the Bonifacio Global City developments and the NAIA Terminal 3.
C-6 is a planned superhighway that will act as a beltway of Metro Manila, so that buses and other transportation vehicles coming from the southern provinces to the northern provinces (and vice versa) need not pass through Metro Manila, thus lessening traffic in the metropolis. When built, C-6 will follow the proposed Metro Manila Tollway route eastward starting from its terminus at the North Luzon Expressway in Marilao in Bulacan province. C-6 will then pass through San Jose Del Monte in Bulacan, turn southward and pass through Montalban, San Mateo, Antipolo City, Angono, and Taytay in Rizal province, finally entering Taguig. The Metro Manila Tollway will continue southwest to the South Luzon Expressway ending at the Bicutan interchange. C-6 will continue southward along the proposed Laguna de Bay Coastal Road running along the coast of the Laguna de Bay into Muntinlupa. C-6 will then turn westward, leaving the Laguna de Bay Coastal Road, pass through the elite Alabang district of Muntinlupa and continue on to Cavite province, eventually connecting to R-1.
There are also rumors of a proposal to build a C-7 circumferential road at an even greater radial distance from Manila than the proposed C-6, but government officials have not confirmed this.
[edit] Other Major Roads
Other Major Roads are Del Monte Avenue (San Francisco Del Monte district of Quezon City), Mayon Avenue (La Loma district of Quezon City), Banawe Avenue (Santa Mesa Heights of Quezon City), North Avenue (Project 6 district of Quezon City), Ongpin Street (Chinatown district of Manila), Makati Avenue and Ayala Avenue (Makati Central Business District), Kalayaan Avenue (Rockwell district of Makati), Madrigal Avenue (Ayala-Alabang Village of Muntinlupa City), Ortigas Avenue (Greenhills district of San Juan, a.k.a. R-5A), Gilmore Avenue (New Manila district of Quezon City), Eulogio Rodriguez, Sr. Avenue (Cubao district of Quezon City), Alabang-Zapote Road (through Las Pinas City), Dr. Arcadio Santos Avenue, or Sucat Road (Sucat district of Paranaque City), and Doña Soledad Avenue (Bicutan district of Paranaque City).
