Philippine highway network

The Philippine highway network refers to the highway system of the Philippines. It is a network of national roads owned and maintained by the Department of Public Works and Highways which are organized into three classifications depending on their function or purpose they serve within the road network: national primary, national secondary, and national tertiary roads. The national roads connecting major cities are numbered N1–N49. They are mostly single and dual carriageways linking three or more cities.Expressways in the Philippines are mostly fully-controlled access, multi-lane, divided toll roads that are privately owned and which are limited to Metro Manila and the island of Luzon.

As of 2015, the Philippine highway network has a total length of 19,162.72 kilometres (11,907.16 mi) of concrete roads, 9,756.45 kilometres (6,062.38 mi) of asphalt roads, 3,636.96 kilometres (2,259.90 mi) of gravel roads, and 77.24 kilometres (47.99 mi) of earth roads. According to a 2011 report from the Asian Development Bank, the extent of the road network in the Philippines is comparable with or better than many neighboring developing countries in Southeast Asia. However, in terms of the quality of the road system, i.e., the percentage of paved roads and the percentage of those in good or fair condition, the country lags behind its neighbors.

The national roads in the Philippines are classified into three types by the Department of Public Works and Highways under the Philippine Highway Act (Republic Act No. 917) signed by President Elpidio Quirino on 20 June 1953 and the series of memorandums issued by the DPWH between 2009 and 2014.

The national primary roads are roads which form parts of the main trunkline system and directly connect three or more major cities and metropolitan areas with a population of at least 100,000. They are further classified into the north–south backbone, east–west lateral, and other roads of strategic importance. The north-south backbone refers to the main trunkline, the Pan-Philippine Highway (N1, also designated as Asian Highway 26 [AH26]), which runs from Laoag in the northernmost parts of Luzon to Zamboanga City in southern Mindanao, interconnecting the country's major islands. The east-west lateral roads are roads that traverse this backbone and runs east-west across the different islands. Other roads of strategic importance provide access to other areas vital for regional development and infrastructure.

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