Bonny Serrano Avenue

Colonel Bonny Serrano Avenue (also spelled Boni Serrano Avenue; formerly named and still colloquially referred to as Santolan Road) is a major east–west thoroughfare in the Eastern Manila District of Metro Manila, Philippines, between San Juan and Quezon City. It was named after the decorated Korean War hero Venancio "Bonny" Serrano.^[3]

C-5 Colonel Bonny Serrano Avenue
Santolan Road
Bonny Serrano Avenue eastbound in San Juan
Route information
Maintained by the Department of Public Works and Highways
Length	4.418 km[1] (2.745 mi)
Component highways	N185 from EDSA to Katipunan Avenue N11 from Katipunan Avenue to E. Rodriguez Jr. Avenue[2] C-5 C-5 from Katipunan Avenue to E. Rodriguez Jr. Avenue
Major junctions
West end	P. Guevarra Street / Pinaglabanan Street in San Juan
Major intersections	N184 (Granada Street/Ortigas Avenue) AH 26 (N1) (Epifanio de los Santos Avenue) N11 (Katipunan Avenue)
East end	N11 (Eulogio Rodriguez Jr. Avenue) / FVR Road in Quezon City
Location
Country	Philippines
Major cities	Quezon City and San Juan
Highway system
Roads in the Philippines Highways Expressways List

It forms the northern limit of San Juan and the southern limit of Quezon City's New Manila district. It also links the PNP headquarters in Camp Crame with the AFP headquarters in Camp Aguinaldo. The avenue runs from the border of barangays Corazón de Jesús, St. Joseph (Halo-Halo), Pasadena, and Little Baguio in San Juan to barangays Libís and Blue Ridge B near the Quezon City-Marikina border in the east. The avenue is a problematic major road that has frequent traffic jams.

Route description

Bonny Serrano Avenue looking east from 8th Avenue in Cubao, Quezon City

The four-lane avenue begins as a continuation of Pinaglabanan Street at P. Guevarra Street in the area of barangay Corazon De Jesus in San Juan. It proceeds due east and runs through the boundary between barangays Bagong Lipunan ng Crame in Quezon City and West Crame in San Juan, passing through the San Juan Municipal Cemetery before arriving at the northern side of Camp Crame. East of the Epifanio de los Santos Avenue junction, the avenue runs the northern boundary of Camp Aguinaldo with the barangays Socorro, San Roque, and Bayanihan, intersecting with 15th Avenue at Camp Aguinaldo Gate 1. It then intersects with Katipunan Avenue (C-5) via an overpass, passing through barangays Blue Ridge A, Blue Ridge B, and Saint Ignatius before terminating at Eulogio Rodriguez Jr. Avenue (C-5) in Libis near Camp Atienza where it continues as FVR Road to the Marikina–Infanta Highway in Calumpang, Marikina and Santolan, Pasig. This section of the avenue connecting Katipunan and Eulogio Rodriguez Jr. Avenues is designated as a component of Circumferential Road 5 (C-5) and National Route 11 (N11), while its section from EDSA to Katipunan Avenue is designated as National Route 185 (N185).

History

Bonny Serrano Avenue was formerly called the Carretera de Santolan (Santolan Road), which ran from the Santolan pumping station by the Mariquina River, then in Pasig, to the El Deposito water reservoir in San Juan del Monte (now San Juan), the main source of water for Manila residents during the Spanish colonial period.^[4] It was built around 1901, during the early years of the American colonial period, costing US$150 (equivalent to $5,669 in 2024) (₱2,643).^[5] In 1935, the road, also known as the San Juan–Santolan Road and San Juan–Santolan Pumping Station Road,^[6] became the location of Camp Murphy, which eventually became Camp Aguinaldo and Camp Crame when the Philippines re-gained independence after World War II. After the establishment of Quezon City, the border of San Juan with the new city was redefined to also run along section of the road, currently between Ermitaño Creek and Camp Crame.^[7][8] The road was renamed after Colonel Bonny Merioles Serrano in 1970, three months after the war hero's death.^[9]

Intersections

Province	City/Municipality	km	mi	Destinations	Notes
San Juan				P. Guevarra Street	Western terminus. Continues westward as Pinaglabanan Street. Only Santolan Road is used as name for this segment.
				J. Abad Santos Street	Exit to Santolan Road only
				M.J. Paterno Street, Pasadena Drive	Traffic light intersection.
San Juan – Quezon City boundary				Don Gonzalo Street	Gated community road
				N184 (Granada Street/Ortigas Avenue)	Traffic light intersection. Access to N180 (Aurora Boulevard) & New Manila via Granada Street, AH 26 (N1) (EDSA), Greenhills, Pasig & Antipolo via Ortigas Avenue. Both names of the road are in use beginning this intersection.
				Main Horseshoe Drive	One-way from Horseshoe Drive
				C. Benitez Street	Access to Cubao via P. Tuazon & N. Domingo
				Sunrise Drive	Loops back to road
				Tyler Street	North Greenhills community road
				5th West Crame
				4th West Crame
				3rd West Crame	One-way road as an alternate way to Greenhills, San Juan via Greenhills-West Crame Connector Rd.
				2nd West Crame
				1st West Crame
Quezon City				General Castañeda Street	Camp Crame Gate 3
				1st Street	One-way exit to Bonny Serrano Avenue. Only Col. Bonny Serrano Avenue is the name used beginning this segment of the road.
				2nd Street	One-way exit from Bonny Serrano Avenue
				3rd Street	One-way exit to Bonny Serrano Avenue
				Gen. J. Delos Reyes Street	Camp Crame Gate 2
				4th Avenue	One-way, westbound only exit from Bonny Serrano Avenue
				AH 26 (N1) (EDSA)	Traffic light intersection. Northbound goes to Cubao & Balintawak, southbound goes to Mandaluyong & Makati. Beginning of N185 designation.
				5th Avenue
				6th Avenue	One-way exit to Bonny Serrano Avenue
				7th Avenue	One-way exit to Bonny Serrano Avenue
				8th Avenue	One-way exit to Bonny Serrano Avenue
				9th Avenue	One-way exit from Bonny Serrano Avenue. Access to Araneta Center.
				10th Avenue
				11th Avenue
				12th Avenue	One-way exit to Bonny Serrano Avenue
				13th Avenue	One-way exit from Bonny Serrano Avenue. Access to Araneta Center.
				14th Avenue	One-way exit to Bonny Serrano Avenue
				15th Avenue/Delos Reyes Avenue	Traffic light intersection. No entry to 15th Avenue. Camp Aguinaldo Gate 1.
				5th Camarilla
				6th Camarilla
				18th Avenue
				19th Avenue
				20th Avenue	Traffic light intersection. Access to Projects 2, 3 & 4
				Arturo Enrile Avenue	Camp Aguinaldo Gate 6
				Pedro Martinez Street (P. Pelaez St. Extension)	Access to pedestrians only
				N11 (Katipunan Avenue)	Traffic light intersection. Northbound goes to Commonwealth & Tandang Sora Avenues, Cubao & Marikina via Aurora Boulevard; southbound goes to Pasig, White Plains & Greenmeadows. Route changes from N185 to N11. C-5 segment of Bonny Serrano Avenue starts here.
				Highland Drive	Westbound service road only
				Riviera Street	Saint Ignatius Village community road. No entry allowed.
				N11 (Eulogio Rodriguez Jr. Avenue)	No left turn from E. Rodriguez Jr. Avenue. Eastern terminus. Continues eastward as FVR Road.
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Closed/former       Incomplete access       Route transition

Landmarks

This is from west to east:

San Juan

• Filoil EcoOil Centre
• Fountain International School
• Santolan Town Plaza
• White Cross Orphanage
• San Juan City Cemetery

Quezon City

• Camp Crame
• Camp Aguinaldo
  • Camp Gen. Aguinaldo High School
• Libis Elementary School