Aspiras–Palispis Highway

The Aspiras–Palispis Highway (formerly known and still referred to as Marcos Highway or Agoo–Baguio Road) is a Philippine major highway in northern Luzon that runs from the city of Baguio in the province of Benguet to the municipality of Agoo in the province of La Union.

Aspiras–Palispis Highway
Marcos Highway Agoo–Baguio Road
The highway in Tuba
Route information
Length	47.17 km (29.31 mi)
Component highways	N208 (Baguio to Agoo)
Major junctions
East end	N54 (Governor Pack Road & Kennon Road) in Baguio
Major intersections	N233 (Western Link Circumferential Road) in Baguio N209 (Pugo–Rosario Road) in Pugo, La Union
West end	N2 (MacArthur Highway) in Agoo
Location
Country	Philippines
Provinces	La Union, Benguet
Major cities	Baguio
Towns	Agoo, Tubao, Pugo, Tuba
Highway system
Roads in the Philippines Highways Expressways List
← N207 → N209

The 47.17-kilometer (29.31 mi)^[1] highway traverses the municipality of Tuba and the city of Baguio in Benguet, and the municipalities of Pugo, Tubao, and Agoo in La Union.

It is one of the four main roads used by motorists and travelers to access Baguio from the northwestern lowlands of Luzon.^[2] The highway's several rehabilitation and development efforts^[3] led to the road's categorization as an "all-weather road",^[4] and is the preferred highway by motorists to use over the older Kennon Road.^[5]

The entire highway is designated as National Route 208 (N208) of the Philippine highway network.

History

Marcos Highway was renamed into Aspiras–Palispis Highway on October 31, 2000, with the issuance of Republic Act 8971.^[6] The highway section covering the province of Benguet was designated as the Ben Palispis Highway in honor of former Benguet Governor Ben Palispis. The La Union section of Marcos Highway was named Jose D. Aspiras Highway after former La Union assemblyman and Tourism Minister Jose Aspiras.^[5][6] However, the former name is considered by people to be more familiar and is still preferred by most.^[7]

The Palina Bridge, situated along the Benguet–La Union boundary, serves as the boundary between the two highways.^{[8][unreliable source?]}

Intersections

Intersections are numbered by kilometer posts, with Rizal Park in Manila designated as kilometer zero. 

Region	Province	City/Municipality	km	mi	Destinations	Notes
Ilocos Region	La Union	Agoo	236.115	146.715	N2 (Manila North Road) – Manila, Laoag	Western terminus.
					Cases Boulevard
					Macalva Barangay Road
		Tubao			Aspiras Street
					Nilangoyan–Tubao Road
					Asin–Nangalisan–San Pascual Road
			244	152	Tavora Street
		Pugo			N209 (Pugo–Rosario Road) – Rosario, Manila, Tarlac
					Cares Bridge (over Pugo River)
Ilocos Region–Cordillera Administrative Region boundary	La Union–Benguet boundary	Pugo–Tuba boundary	259.267– 259.314	161.101– 161.130	La Union 2nd–Benguet 1st highway boundary
Cordillera Administrative Region	Benguet	Tuba	259.314	161.130	No major junctions
			276	171	Badiwan Tunnel
			277	172	Badiwan Viaduct
		Tuba–Baguio boundary	279.145– 279.149	173.453– 173.455	Benguet 1st–Baguio highway boundary
		Baguio	280.702	174.420	N233 (Balacbac Feeder Road), Santo Tomas - Mount Cabuyo Road
					N233 (Western Link Circumferential Road)
					Bakakeng Road
			282	175	Legarda Road
			283.454	176.130	N54 (Governor Pack Road & Kennon Road), Kisad Road	Baguio General Hospital Circle and Flyover. Eastern terminus. Road continues north as Governor Pack Road via BGH Flyover.
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

Notable landmarks

The 519-meter (1,703 ft) long Badiwan Viaduct, constructed in 2001, with help from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), serves as a major bridge along Badiwan, Barangay Poblacion in Tuba, Benguet.^[9][10] Several meters from it is a concrete rock shed to protect motorists from landslides.^[5]

The blasted remains of the bust of Ferdinand Marcos,^[11] a giant concrete head sculpture of the former president, can be seen along the highway at Barangay Palina, in Pugo, La Union.^[12][13]

References

1. . Department of Public Works and Highways. August 25, 2014. Archived from the original on September 24, 2014. Retrieved September 29, 2014.
2. "Reason No. 46 - Baguio City: How to Get There". League of Cities of the Philippines. Archived from the original on September 29, 2014. Retrieved September 29, 2014.
3. Zambrano, Joseph (April 7, 2013). "Gov't releases P20 M for highway rehab". Baguio Midland Courier. Retrieved September 29, 2014.
4. "Kennon or Marcos?". GoBaguio!. Retrieved September 29, 2014.
5. . Libotero. October 27, 2010. Archived from the original on September 25, 2014. Retrieved September 29, 2014.
6. "An Act Naming the Agoo–Tubao–Pugo section of the Agoo–Baguio Road, the Jose D. Aspiras Highway, and the Benguet–Baguio section of the Same Road, the Ben Palispis Highway". Chan Robles Virtual Law Library. Retrieved September 29, 2014.
7. Opiña, Rimaliza (July 26, 2010). . Sun.Star Baguio. Archived from the original on July 31, 2010. Retrieved September 29, 2014.
8. . Mapcentral. Archived from the original on November 7, 2020. Retrieved September 29, 2014.
9. Alambra, Aurora (December 29, 2001). "Arroyo inaugurates Benguet viaduct". The Philippine Star. Retrieved September 29, 2014.
10. "Barangay Poblacion". Municipality of Tuba, Benguet (official website). Retrieved September 29, 2014.
11. . City of Pines. Archived from the original on September 25, 2014. Retrieved September 29, 2014.
12. Dumlao, Artemio (December 30, 2002). "Marcos bust blasted". The Philippine Star. Retrieved September 29, 2014.
13. "La Union: Points of Interest". Tripod (La Union). Retrieved September 29, 2014.

Coordinates: 16°22′43″N 120°32′29″E / 16.3786°N 120.5414°E / 16.3786; 120.5414