Commonwealth Avenue (Tagalog: Abenida Komonwelt), formerly known as Don Mariano Marcos Avenue (Tagalog:Abenida Don Mariano Marcos), named after the father of President Ferdinand Marcos, is a 12.4 km (7.7 mi) highwaylocated in Quezon City, Philippines which spans from 6 to 18 lanes and known as the widest in the Philippines. It is one of the major roads in Metro Manila and is designated as part of Radial Road 7 (R-7).
The Commonwealth Avenue starts from the Quezon Memorial Circle inside the Elliptical Road, it passes through the areas of Philcoa, Tandang Sora, Balara, Batasan Hills and ends at Quirino Highway in the Novaliches area.
Contents
[hide]- 1 History
- 2 Notable and planned buildings and structures
- 2.1 Iglesia Ni Cristo Central Temple
- 2.2 The Sandiganbayan
- 2.3 New Era University
- 2.4 University of the Philippines Diliman
- 2.5 Quezon Memorial Circle
- 2.6 Shopping centers
- 2.7 Other buildings and structures
- 2.8 St. Peter Parish: Shrine of Leaders
- 2.9 Planned MRT line
- 2.10 Planned linking to Quirino Highway
- 3 See also
- 4 References
- 5 External links
History
The Commonwealth Avenue is divided to two portions, the 6-8 lane Fairview Avenue and the 18-lane Don Mariano Marcos Avenue. The Don Mariano Avenue was constructed in the late-1960s as a 2-lane highway to offer a route towards theBatasang Pambansa Complex. Quezon City was then the capital of the Philippines, and embassies were to be put up on the stretch of highway. Because the country's capital was moved back to Manila in 1976, other establishments were put up instead. The Don Mariano Marcos Avenue was later extended from the Elliptical Road to Calle Espana (now known asEspana Boulevard). The Don Mariano Marcos Avenue was later renamed into two parts, the Commonwealth Avenue andQuezon Avenue. Later Commonwealth Avenue regained the 8-lane Fairview Avenue, which ends in the Jordan Plains Subdivision in Novaliches.
In the 1980s, the road was widened into a 6-lane highway. During the late 1990s and early 2000s (decade), the avenue was prone to heavy traffic and accidents due to the increase in number of public transportation vehicles plying the highway, and sidewalk vendors crowding onto the road. In the late 2000s (decade), the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority cleared the sidewalk vendors, especially in the Tandang Sora area, which was prone to heavy rush hour traffic. Fairview Avenue uses stoplights and center island splittings in its intersections, while the Don Mariano Marcos Avenue uses interchanges in its intersections.
The avenue is 18 lanes at its widest, and is the widest road in the Philippines, beating the old record set by EDSA.[1]
List of intersections
This is the list of intersections of Commonwealth Avenue, north to south.
| Kilometer # | Intersection | Remarks |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | Quirino Highway | This is the northern terminus of Commonwealth Avenue. NB Quirino Highway goes to the Quirino Highway Industrial Center and Bulacan province. SB Quirino Highway goes to Novaliches and NLEX. The Metro Manila Assembly Hall ofJehovah's Witnesses is the remarkable landmark. |
| 1 | Mindanao Avenue Intersection | Mindanao Avenue goes to Lagro and is an alternate route to Regalado Highway. |
| 2 | Regalado HighwayIntersection | Regalado Avenue goes to Lagro and Quirino Highway. |
| 3 | Sauyo Road Intersection(Commonwealth-Atherthon) | NB Sauyo Road goes to Lagro and SB Sauyo Road goes to C-5 Road and Quirino Highway. |
| 4 | Fairlane Road Junction SB | Fairlane Street goes to the Tandang Sora Avenue |
| 5 | Regalado Avenue Intersection(Commonwealth-North Fairview) | The Fairview Center Mall and The Fairview general Hospital is located in this intersection. |
| 6 | Winston Street Intersection(EcoPark) | Winston Street goes to the EcoPark and La Mesa Dam. |
| 7 | North Luzon East Expressway | The NLEE project started to be constructed here. This will be the future terminus of the North Luzon East Expressway. |
| 8 | Hon. B. Soliven Avenue Junction NB | The road goes to the Litex Road |
| 9 | Litex-Batasan RoadJunction NB(Payatas) | Commonwealth widens to 18 lanes here.SB Commonwealth travellers may access the merging roads via a U-Turn Slot. Batasan will later merge again to Commonwealth. |
| 10 | Don Antonio Drive Junction(Commonwealth-Ever) | Don Antonio Drive goes to the Ever Gotesco Mall. |
| 11 | Batasan Hills Underpass SB(Commonwealth-SandiganBayan) | The Sandiganbayan Building is located in this intersection. Batasan Hills Road goes to Marikina, Cainta and San Mateo. There is a 2 lane SB underpass for vehicles driving nonstop to Manila from the Batasan Road. |
| 12 | BF Homes Road Junction SB(Commonwealth-Delgado) | The BF homes road goes to the Luzon Avenue. |
| 13 | Holy Spirit Road intersection(Commonwealth-Amsterdam) | The Holy Spirit Road goes to the Holy Spirit District, the Amsterdam Road to Tandang Sora Avenue. |
| 14 | C-5 Alternate Route(Commonwealth-Suzzuarreggui) | This street had been an alternate route to Katipunan Avenue and C-5 for Tandang Sora Avenue is very prone to heavy traffic. |
| 15 | C-5 Interchange(Commonwealth-Tandang Sora) | Here, Commonwealth shall pass 3 roads that were part of the C-5 road, Luzon Avenue, Tandang Sora Avenue, and Central Avenue.There used to be an access to Luzon Avenue from Commonwealth but it was closed down when a 6-lane flyover was built over Commonwealth as part of the C-5 improvement project. Luzon Avenue can be accessed by Tandang Sora Avenue. There was a 4-lane flyover erected over Tandang Sora Avenue. Tandang Sora goes to Visayas Avenue, Mindanao Avenue and Quirino Highway. Central Avenue can be accessed by turning right from SB Commonwealth and via a U-turn in NB Commonwealth. Central Avenue goes to Visayas Avenue. |
| 16 | Central Avenue Junction(Iglesia ni Cristo Central Temple) | Central Avenue Goes to the Main Gate of Iglesia ni Cristo Central Office, New Era University and as Well to Culiat Area. Alternate Route to Visayas Avenue towards Project 6 and Pag Asa Areas. |
| 17 | University Avenue Interjunction(UP-Ayala TechnoHub) | University Avenue goes to C-5 and to the University of the Philippines. |
| 18 | Quezon City Memorial CircleRoundabout(Commonwealth-Elliptical) | This is the Southern terminus of Commonwealth Avenue. Visayas Avenue goes to Tandang Sora and Congressional, Kalayaan Avenue goes to Cubao, and North Avenue, East Avenue and Quezon Avenue goes to EDSA. R-7 continues to Manila as the Quezon Avenue. |
Notable and planned buildings and structures[edit]
Commercial establishments and residential subdivisions have been built along the avenue. The avenue is also the location of government establishments like the Sandiganbayan, Commission on Audit and the Philippine Coconut Authority.
Iglesia Ni Cristo Central Temple[edit]
The Central Temple of Iglesia Ni Cristo is the main attraction along Commonwealth Avenue, the temple remains as the Asia's largest church. The Iglesia ni Cristo is the largest entirely indigenous Christian religious organization that originated from thePhilippines and the largest independent church in Asia.
The Sandiganbayan[edit]
Main article: Sandiganbayan
The Sandiganbayan is a special court in the Philippines which was established under Presidential Decree No. 1606. Its rank is equivalent to the Court of Appeals. The court consists of 14 Associate Justices and 1 Presiding Justice. The Sandiganbayan building is located at Centennial Building, Commonwealth Avenue cor. Batasan Road, Quezon City. It became famous as the trials of former President Joseph Estrada were held there from 2001 to 2007.
New Era University[edit]
Main article: New Era University
New Era University (NEU) is an educational institution in the Philippines, run by the Iglesia ni Cristo (INC). This university is one of the largest non-Catholic universities in the Philippines with approximately 30,000 students. Its main campus is in # 9 Central Avenue, New Era, Quezon City, in the Central Office Complex of the Iglesia Ni Cristo. It has several branches around the Philippines, including one in San Fernando City, Pampanga, in Lipa City, Batangas and in General Santos City, South Cotabato.
University of the Philippines Diliman[edit]
Main article: University of the Philippines Diliman
The University of the Philippines Diliman, or U.P. Diliman, is the flagship university of the University of the Philippines System. It is located in Diliman, Quezon City. It offers courses in Liberal Arts, Social Sciences, Law, Business and Economics, Natural Sciences, Engineering, Music and Fine Arts among others. It offers the largest number of graduate and undergraduate courses among all the universities in the Philippines. In 2007, construction started on a 37.5 hectare technology park being developed by the Ayala Corporation inside the campus of the university near the avenue.[3] The U.P.-Ayala TechnoHub now hosts multinational corporations such as Convergys, IBM, HSBC, and Manulife.
Quezon Memorial Circle[edit]
Main article: Quezon Memorial Circle
The Quezon Memorial Circle is a national park and shrine located in Quezon City, former capital of the Philippines (1948–1976). The park is an ellipse bounded by the Elliptical Road. The site was originally intended as the grounds of the National Capitol to be built in Quezon City. While the cornerstone for the structure was laid in 1940, only the foundations were in place when construction was interrupted by the beginning of the Second World War in the Philippines. After World War II, President Sergio Osmeña issued an executive order stipulating the creation of a Quezon Memorial Committee to raise funds by public subscription to erect a monument to his predecessor, President Manuel Luis Quezon. The height of monument stands at 66 meters, the same number as the age when Quezon died in 1944.
Shopping centers[edit]
Currently there are a few shopping centers along the avenue. The first mall to open along avenue is the Ever Gotesco Commonwealth mall which services people along the Commonwealth/Diliman and Batasan areas. Also there two malls serving the Tandang Sora area: Puregold Supermarket in the southbound lane and Berkeley Square in the northbound lane. The U.P.-Ayala TechnoHub hosts amusement centers and restaurants, while a smaller mall, the Citimall, serves the Philcoa area near the UP Campus and caters mostly to commuters. Fairview Centermall caters the Fairview area, while SM City Fairview and Robinsons Place Novaliches are in close proximity of the Jordan Plaines terminus of the avenue. Last to be completed is the Shopwise center near Ever Gotesco. A Puregold Supermarket was opened on the former site of the Fairview Wet & Dry Market. A Purgold Jr. branch was also opened besides the Diliman Preparatory School campus. A Convergyssite along the Batasan area also hosts commercial areas.
Other buildings and structures[edit]
There are a lot of schools located along the avenue, these are the National College of Business and Arts in Fairview,[4] Our Lady of Mercy School, Diliman Preparatory School,[5] and Lux Domine Academy which are located in the Batasan area. Also, car companies like Toyota, Kia Motors, Hyundai, Suzuki and Nissanhave distributions in the avenue. There are also markets located along the road like the Commonwealth Market in Barangay Commonwealth. Also along the Fairview area is the La Mesa Dam which supplies water to Metro Manila.
St. Peter Parish: Shrine of Leaders[edit]
The St. Peter Parish is located in Commonwealth Avenue around Barangay Batasan Hills and was completed in 1999. It is a famous church in the Philippines as it is a replica of the original St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, Italy.[6]
Planned MRT line[edit]
Currently there are no train lines in Commonwealth Avenue, but there are plans to build one along the highway. The MRT 7 will begin construction in 2013[citation needed]. It will stretch from Quirino Highway in San Jose del Monte, Bulacan to North Avenue via parts of Northern Caloocan and Quezon City through Commonwealth Avenue connecting with the MRT 3. This is expected to decongest traffic on the avenue.
Planned linking to Quirino Highway[edit]
On October 1, 2009, Quezon City Mayor Feliciano Belmonte, Jr. announced his 15-year old plan to link Commonwealth Avenue & Quirino Highway at the cost of P20 million to P140 million, which would be adjacent to Zabarte Road.[7] The project was completed in May 2011 and is already operational.
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