N670 highway (Philippines)

Route 670 shield
Route 670
Wright-Taft-Borongan Hwy.jpg
View of the N670 highway in the Wright-Taft-Borongan segment in the poblacion of Borongan.
Major junctions
North end N1 (Maharlika Highway) in Allen, Northern Samar
Major intersections
South end N1 (Maharlika Highway) in Basey, Samar
Location
CountryPhilippines
Provinces
Towns
Highway system
  • Roads in the Philippines

National Highway 670 is a national highway in the Philippine highway network. This highway traverses the island of Samar, including the provinces of Northern Samar, Eastern Samar, and Samar. It starts in Allen, Northern Samar, from the Pan-Philippine Highway and travels east to Northern Samar. It then turns south to Eastern Samar, and west for the province of Samar.

The first portion of the highway was created in 1983 with the construction of the Catarman-Laoang Road. Since then, multiple portions of the highway have been built, with most of them being created from the 1980s to the 2000s. The last portion of the highway to be built was the San Policarpo-Arteche-Lapinig Road, created in 2009. Since the full completion of the highway, numerous typhoons have closed portions of the highway.

Route description

Northern Samar

The highway begins from an intersection in the Port of Allen. The section is named the Allen-Catarman Road. It has an intersection with the Allen Old Road. The road passes through the towns of Lavezares and Rosario.[1] It then crosses Bobon,[2] reaching the municipality of Catarman. It has an intersection with the Catarman-Calbayog Road or National Highway 672. It also intersects with both of the local diversion roads in Catarman. It then becomes the Catarman-Laoang Road.[1][3]

It passes the town of Mondragon[4] before switching to the second Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) district in Northern Samar.[1] It crosses through the towns of San Roque,[5] intersecting with the town's old road,[1] and Pambujan.[6] It then intersects with the Rawis-Catubig Road. The route includes a ferry crossing to Laoang, after which it continues as the Laoang–Calomotan Road, crossing through Laoang Island. After reaching Calomotan over a distance of 6.487 kilometres (4.031 miles), a boat ride takes the road to the Barangay of Pangpang before becoming the Pangpang-Palapag-Mapanas-Gamay-Lapinig Road or the PAMAGALA Road. The road passes through the towns of Palapag, avoiding the poblacion, Mapanas, Gamay, and eventually Lapinig.[1][7]

Eastern Samar

The road segment is now named the Jct Taft-Oras-San Policarpo-Arteche Road. It passes through the towns of Arteche, San Policarpo, Oras, Dolores, and Can-Avid over a distance of 81 km (50 mi).[1] It crosses the Oras Bridge, with a length of 540 metres (1,770 feet), the Dolores Bridge, with a length of 322 m (1,056 ft), and the Can-Avid Bridge with a length of 310 m (1,020 ft).[8]

It then has an intersection with the Wright–Taft Road in Taft. The road segment is now named the Wright-Taft-Borongan Road. The road passes through the towns of Sulat and San Julian.[1] It crosses through the Sulat Bridge, with a length of 138 m (453 ft) and the Taft Bridge with a length of 137 m (449 ft).[8] In Borongan, the road segment changes into the Borongan-Guiuan Road. It passes through the towns of Maydolong, Hernani, General MacArthur, and eventually Quinapondan, where the segment turns into the Jct Buenavista-Lawaan-Marabut Road in an intersection with a portion of the Borongan-Guiuan Road. It passes through the towns of Giporlos, Balangiga, and Lawaan before entering the province of Samar.[1][9]

Samar

Upon entering Samar, the road segment becomes the Basey-Marabut-Pinamitinan Road. It passes through the town of Marabut, curving over the coastline and turning north. It then crosses Basey. In Basey, it splits into two roads: the Dolongan-Basey Road, which leads more northern, and the San Juanico-Basey-Sohoton Road, which goes straight, the main road leading to Tacloban. Both of them end up in the Maharlika Highway, leading up to the San Juanico Bridge.[1][9]

History

Creation

The creation of the Catarman-Laoang Road was dated back to 1983 in a development report by the Government of the Philippines.[10] The Catarman-Allen Road was deemed 90 percent complete on June 29, 1987, with the help of the Australian Government.[11] In June 2000, the South Samar Coastal Road, a part of the highway connecting Samar and Eastern Samar was opened.[12] In the early 2000s, the Taft-Guiuan Highway was constructed.[13] In November 2006, then-President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo ordered the release of funds for the Northern Samar to Eastern Samar highway portion.[14] Within 2008, repairs of the PAMAGALA Road have been made.[15] The San Policarpo-Arteche-Lapinig Road was created in 2009.[16]

Weather damage

In January 2019, the Allen-Catarman road was damaged by Tropical Depression Usman.[17] In November 2022, the Allen-Catarman road was damaged again from Tropical Storm Nalgae, locally named Paeng on a cost of 20 million pesos.[18] In November 2023, seven bridges from the highway were damaged by flooding from a shear line. Five of the damaged bridges were located in the Allen-Catarman Road while two of the bridges were located in the Catarman-Laoang road.[19] On October 23, 2024, the northern portion of the road was considered impassable because of heavy winds from Tropical Storm Trami, locally named Kristine.[20]

Major intersections

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

ProvinceCity/MunicipalitykmmiDestinationsNotes
Northern SamarAllen697433 N1
Catarman743462 N672
Eastern SamarTaft891554 N674
Quinapondan996619 N676
SamarSanta Rita896557 N1
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i ArcGIS Web Application (Map). Department of Public Works and Highways. Retrieved June 3, 2025.
  2. ^ "DPWH-Northern Samar First DEO completed the off-carriageway improvement in Bobon, Northern Samar". Leyte Samar Daily News. October 9, 2023. Retrieved June 2, 2025.
  3. ^ "N670 highway in Northern Samar" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved August 17, 2025.
  4. ^ "Road widening project in Mondragon, Northern Samar now completed". Leyte Samar Daily News. June 5, 2023. Retrieved June 2, 2025.
  5. ^ "Widening of P81M Balud Bridge along Catarman-Laoang Road, completed". Leyte Samar Daily News. August 15, 2023. Retrieved June 2, 2025.
  6. ^ "DPWH Upgrades Vital Catarman-Laoang Road in Northern Samar" (Press release). Department of Public Works and Highways. October 14, 2024. Retrieved June 2, 2025.
  7. ^ "NSSDEO completes new drainage project along PAMAGALA Road". Leyte Samar Daily News. December 18, 2023. Retrieved June 2, 2025.
  8. ^ a b "Eastern Samar". Department of Public Works and Highways. October 16, 2024. Archived from the original on August 17, 2025. Retrieved August 17, 2025.
  9. ^ a b "N670 highway in Eastern Samar and Samar" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved August 17, 2025.
  10. ^ Philippine Development. Office of the Director-General of the National Economic and Development Authority. 1983. p. 7.
  11. ^ Espino, Jake (June 29, 1987). "Samar remains underdeveloped". Manila Standard. Retrieved August 17, 2025.
  12. ^ Labro, Vicente (June 22, 2000). "Samar cave yields ancient burial sites". Philippine Daily Inquirer.
  13. ^ Borrinaga, Rolando (August 16, 2003). "Hell in Samar paradise". Philippine Daily Inquirer.
  14. ^ Labro, Ven (November 6, 2006). Samar road projects get priority. Philippine Daily Inquirer.
  15. ^ "Invitation to Apply for Eligibility and to Bid". The Manila Times. March 19, 2008.
  16. ^ State of the Nation Address: Technical report. Philippine Information Agency. 2009. p. 124.
  17. ^ "DPWH reports of P54.5 million of damaged roads in EV due to 'Usman'". Leyte Samar Daily News. January 7, 2019. Retrieved June 3, 2025.
  18. ^ "DPWH in the region report of over P325 million of roads and bridges destroyed due to 'Paeng'". Leyte Samar Daily News. November 8, 2022. Retrieved June 3, 2025.
  19. ^ Abella, Lizbeth Ann (November 25, 2023). "Damage to public infra from shear line in E. Visayas reaches P469-M". Philippine News Agency. Archived from the original on August 12, 2024. Retrieved June 3, 2025.
  20. ^ Rosel, Trixee (October 23, 2024). "'Kristine' shuts down portions of 20 national roads in Southern Luzon, Eastern Visayas". Manila Bulletin. Retrieved June 3, 2025.
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