The road passes to
Gapan,
San Isidro, and
Cabiao in Nueva Ecija,
Arayat,
Santa Ana,
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. The highway also serves a major utility corridor, carrying various high voltage
overhead power lines through densely populated areas where acquisition and designation of right of way or power line alignment and lands for their associated structures is impractical. Notable power lines using the highway's right of way for most or part of their route are the Hermosa–Duhat–Balintawak transmission line from Hermosa Substation of
National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) to San Fernando Exit of
North Luzon Expressway (NLEx) and Hermosa–Calaguiman line from NGCP Hermosa Substation in Hermosa to Layac Junction in Dinalupihan. The San Fernando segment of the Hermosa–Duhat–Balintawak line itself is undergoing relocation since 2001 originally to replace the steel poles affected by lahars from
Mount Pinatubo at Magliman section, and later from February 2011, 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.
Gapan to San Fernando 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 road turns west at the Santo Domingo Circle in Mexico and turns south at its intersection with Arayat–Mexico Road in Mexico
poblacion. 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.
Bacolor to Olongapo Upon entering Bacolor, the road turns eastward and passes through the
lahar-filled Pasig-Potrero River. It passes through Bacolor town proper, with its
parish church being visible from the highway. It continues on a straight direction, intersects with Guagua-Santa Rita Provincial Road and San Antonio-Siran Road, turns westward, and enters
Lubao after passing the second road mentioned before. It continues straightforward, passing through residential areas and establishments within the municipality and parallels the Lubao Old National Road. It then enters
Bataan through the Pampanga Welcome marker and traverses the municipalities of
Hermosa and
Dinalupihan, where it turns right at the Layac Junction. It then bypasses the
poblacion, turns westward, and crosses below the
Subic–Clark–Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX). It then parallels into it, continues on a straight direction, passings through barangays San Benito, Colo, Naparing, Happy Valley, and Roosevelt National Park Protected Area, and the eastern end of
Subic Freeport Expressway. It enters
Zambales a few meters after the said exit and continues on a zigzag pattern before passing through residential areas within Olongapo. The road then enters the city proper of Olongapo, where it is locally known as Rizal Avenue, and continues towards National Highway (
N306) at its terminus at the Ulo ng Apo Rotonda. ==History==