Kennon Road connects Baguio City with the town of Rosario, La Union in the Philippines. It was originally called the Benguet Road and was later named in honor of its builder, Col. Lyman Kennon of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Coming from Manila or the provinces in the central plains of Luzon, it is the shortest route up to Baguio. Although Kennon is the shortest of the three major access roads, travel time is just as long as through the other two because of poor road conditions. Baguio City is a 1st class highly urbanized city in northern Luzon in the Philippines. ... Rosario is a 3rd class municipality in the province of La Union, Philippines. ... La Union is a province of the Philippines located in the Ilocos Region in Luzon. ... Benguet is a landlocked province of the Philippines in the Cordillera Administrative Region in Luzon. ... United States Army Corps of Engineers logo The United States Army Corps of Engineers, or USACE, is made up of some 34,600 civilian and 650 military men and women. ... The City of Manila (Filipino: Lungsod ng Maynila), or simply Manila, is the capital of the Philippines. ... Map of the Philippines showing the island groups of Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. ...

It usually takes an experienced commuter from 50 minutes to an hour to negotiate the 41.2-kilometer steep and winding climb by car. The upward climb reveals a picturesque view of the mountains, lush vegetation, and pine trees as you get closer to Baguio. A mountain river flows along a rocky canyon from the lofty heights, and following this course the road was cut above the river bed.

Kennon is a toll road and the tollgate is located about 2.5 kilometers from the junction at Rosario. The original road was a macadam telford-type road which was in the following years constructed into an all-weather asphalt roadway. Lately, some portions of Kennon Road have been replaced with concrete pavements. There are small settlements along the road, known as Camp 1 to 6 which were originally established by the original builders of the road. Macadam is a type of road construction pioneered by John Loudon McAdam in the early 1800s. ... Thomas Telford (August 9, 1757 - September 2, 1834) was born in Westerkirk, Scotland. ...

Unknown to many is the fact that its initial construction way back in 1903 was cutting across the mountains of Benguet with the combined efforts of Filipinos, Americans and Japanese nationals. Aside from Filipino engineers and U.S. Army Engineers headed by Col. Lyman Kennon, one thousand five hundred Japanese immigrant workers persevered to accomplish the difficult road project. The Japanese workers contributed substantially in the construction effort until its completion in 1905. To carve out the road against river canyon walls, five hundred Japanese workers died while engaged in the project. By ratio, the toll of one Japanese life was sacrificed for every ninety meters of the road length. 1903 (MCMIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Friday of the 13-day slower Julian calendar. ... 1905 (MCMV) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ...

External links

• CityofPines.com - Kennon Road