Jose Abad Santos Avenue

Jose Abad Santos Avenue was named in honor of José Abad Santos, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines, who was executed by the Japanese invading forces during World War II. The avenue was formerly called Olongapo–Gapan Road and Gapan–San Fernando–Olongapo Road. The name was changed in line with Republic Act No. 9477 signed by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo on May 22, 2007. Nowadays, the avenue is commonly referred to by its acronym JASA, however, its old name is still used.[2]

Jose Abad Santos Avenue traces its roots to the pre-colonial period. The Kapampangan empire expanded their trades throughout Central Luzon, forcing them to create roads adjacent to the Pampanga River. Since Nueva Ecija, Bulacan, and Rizal (Metro Manila) are readily accessible because the road networks to that locations exist, the empire could not access the province of Zambales and Bataan. Through the years, they developed land tracks accessible by foot and small wagons pulled by horses.

When the Spanish colonials came in the Philippines, they developed the road built by the old empire. They widened the road, constructed wooden bridges, and connected it to the Olongapo, a very vital location which enabled them to easily access the Subic Bay, the site of their Naval Base.

When the Americans came, they paved the Olongapo Gapan Road and constructed concrete bridges, the longest is the one that traverses Great Pampanga River. These actions enabled them to connect their Air Field in Clark and their Naval Base in Subic Bay. Greater improvements on the road was made on this period.

When the World War II started, the Olongapo Gapan Road was crippled, halting the transportation throughout the entire span of the road. The Japanese bombed the road to stop the Americans and Filipino in the fortification of different bases which spans through the Central Luzon.

After the end of the War, the Philippine Government rehabilitated and repaired the whole road, paving all of the 118-kilometer long highway. New bridges was constructed, shoulders were improved and added some facilities.

During the Mount Pinatubo eruption in 1991, some portions of a highway, especially its Bacolor and Magliman, San Fernando section, were buried in lahar and many bridges were destroyed. A year after the disaster, these sections were rehabilitated, which involved building new roads and bridges.

Today, Olongapo–Gapan Road, now called Jose Abad Santos Avenue and designated as National Route 3 of the Philippine highway network, is the most significant toll-free road that connects Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, Bataan, and Zambales.

The road passes to Gapan, San Isidro, and Cabiao in Nueva Ecija, Santa Ana, Arayat, Mexico, City of San Fernando, Bacolor, Guagua, and Lubao in Pampanga, Hermosa and Dinalupihan in Bataan, and finally to the city of Olongapo in Zambales.[3] Various high voltage overhead power lines, most notably the Hermosa–Duhat–Balintawak and Hermosa–Calaguiman transmission lines of National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP), utilize the highway right of way from San Fernando Exit of North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) to Layac Junction for accessibility to work vehicles and also due to scarcity of land for dedicated right of way. The San Fernando segment of the Hermosa–Duhat–Balintawak line itself is undergoing relocation to alleviate heavy traffic along the avenue due to the presence of its electric poles standing on the highway itself, and to pave the way for the expansion of some segments of the avenue, particularly at Barangay Dolores.[4]

Gapan to San Fernando

A portion of the road between MacArthur Highway and North Luzon Expressway (NLEx).

The road starts on Pan-Philippine Highway (N1/AH26) in the city of Gapan in Nueva Ecija. It enters San Isidro where the road turns westward. A few meters is Cabiao where the road continues straightforward, again turning westward then eastward, entering Pampanga, and passes through Pampanga River. It then passes through residential areas and institutions within the municipalities of Arayat, Santa Ana, and Mexico before entering San Fernando. The SM City Pampanga and Robinson Starmills malls can be seen on a boundary between Mexico and City of San Fernando. It intersects with North Luzon Expressway after passing these two malls. It crosses MacArthur Highway through Dolores Flyover, continues on a straight route, with its city proper being visible from the highway, with another flyover named Lazatin Flyover through Lazatin Boulevard. A few meters past the flyover is San Fernando Central Transport Terminal. The city's welcome sign could be located on this portion and after it, the highway enters Bacolor.

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

Province	City/Municipality	km	mi	Destinations	Notes
Nueva Ecija	Gapan	90	56	N1 / AH26 (Pan-Philippine Highway)	Eastern terminus
	San Isidro			San Isidro-Jaen Road
Pampanga	Arayat	87.9	54.6	Mt. Arayat National Park Road	Serves Mt. Arayat National Park
		81.5	50.6	Arayat–Magalang Road
	Santa Ana			Baliwag–Candaba–Santa Ana Road
	Mexico			Bahay Pare–San Luis–Santo Domingo Road / Tulauc–Santo Domingo Road	Roundabout intersection
				Mexico-Magalang Road
				San Fernando–Lagundi Road
	San Fernando	65	40	E1 (North Luzon Expressway)	NLEX-San Fernando Exit, crosses above NLEX
				N2 (MacArthur Highway)	Crossing motorists are carried by Dolores Flyover
				Lazatin Boulevard	Crossing motorists are carried by Lazatin Flyover
	Bacolor			Mega Dike Access Road
	Guagua			Guagua-Porac Road
				San Antonio–Floridablanca Road
	Lubao			San Fernando–Lubao Road
				Lubao Access Road	both terminus ends at Jose Abad Santos Avenue
Bataan	Dinalupihan	101	63	N301 (Roman Superhighway)	Northern Terminus of N301
				N217 (Angeles–Porac–Floridablanca–Dinalupihan Road / J.P. Rizal Street)
				N214 (Tabacan Poblacion Road)
				E4 (Subic Freeport Expressway)
Olongapo				N305 (Rizal Avenue) / N306 (Olongapo–Bugallon Road)	Ulo ng Apo roundabout. Western terminus.
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

The façade of SM City Pampanga

The Jose Abad Santos Avenue spans for about 118 kilometers, thus, many establishments and landmarks are built alongside the highway. This landmarks are malls, historical sites, government facilities, and many more other establishments. Two major shopping malls along the road are SM City Pampanga, the second largest mall in Northern and Central Luzon, and Robinsons Starmills Pampanga.