The Philip Goldson Highway, alternatively known as Route AR2 within the national route classification system, joins Belize City through Orange Walk Town and Corozal Town with the Mexican border at the state of Quintana Roo.
At a public meeting on March 1845 it was voted on to spend $600 for clearing the Haulover Road and for constructing a large scow to transport cattle at that place.[1]
On January 21, 1848 tolls were introduced for the Haulover Ferry. 10d for every person and 1/8thd per head of cattle or horse.[1]
In April 1866 the Haulover Road was completed.[1] By 1868 a road already existed between Settlement 186 and Settlement 64 but not to Settlement 12 yet. [1] In 1923 the first Bridge 19 was constructed replacing the Haulover Ferry.[2]
The road from Settlement 186 to Settlement 139 was built in 1925.[3] In 1966 the Tower Hill Bridge was built with the first and last toll booth ever in Belize, replacing the ferry that had been there previously.
The highway was officially commissioned in 1968 as the Northern Highway.
On December 3, 1969, the Bridge 85 was completed with a road built to the Northern Highway's junction with Road 50 and Road 51, bringing it from a regular t-junction to a crossroad with slip roads on all sides. Around this time the boulevard was built from the Roundabout 41 to the Roundabout 39.[4]
In 1979, 30 miles (48 km) of new highway was constructed by Teichroeb and Sons which brought the route much further to the west between Settlement 12 and Settlement 186, and much closer to Settlement 76, to which a causeway and road was built in 1984. At the same time the Belcan and Buttonwood Bay Roundabouts were constructed[HISTORY CONFLICT].[5]
The Road 40 was completed on September 9, 2004 bypassing Settlement 186 to the east, crossing the Waterway 206 twice.[6]
On 21 September 2012, Prime Minister Dean Barrow announced that it would be renamed the Philip Goldson Highway, named after a Belizean activist, editor and politician. The highway passes the international airport also named for Philip Goldson.[6]
In 2015 the Roundabout 36 was constructed at the Road 9 junction.[7] During the same year, the Roundabout 25 was also constructed at the north end of Settlement 186 connecting with the Road 40.
In 2018 the stretch of road from the Roundabout 39 to the Roundabout 36 was widened from a two lane highway to a four lane highway with barriers in-between and frontage roads on both sides. And then from Roundabout 36 to Simeon Young Street the road was divided with a median and roundabouts constructed at Beverly Smith Lopez Street and at the North End Estate.[8]
A rehabilitation project was started on June 2021 to repave the Philip Goldson from mile 24.5 in Biscayne to the Mexican Border. The rehabilitation project included the construction of roundabouts at Crooked Tree, south end Road 106 and north end Road 106, and the paving of the gravel Road 106. Also the straightening of the Mamayal and Tumbaito curves. And then at Settlement 144 the t-junction was made into a curve. Also at this time the Tower Hill Bridge Toll was removed.
On March 1, 2022 the Roundabout 22 was constructed.[9]
On February 1, 2024 the new Bridge 22 was opened to the public, replacing the old narrow steel truss bridge. On the north end of the bridge a roundabout was constructed.[10]
On February 3, 2025 a rehabilitation project was started, repaving and upgrading the highway from mile 8 to mile 24.5 in Settlement 265.[11] The plan is to build 4 roundabouts at the Road 49 Jct, Lord's Bank Road Jct, Burrell Boom Jct, and Road 77 Jct.
| # | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Haulover Bridge | BZ | Philip Goldson Highway | Belize River | - | - | 424 | - | concrete | paved | - | - |
| 2 | Haulover Bridge | BZ | Philip Goldson Highway | Belize River | - | 2024-06 | 127 | - | metal | metal | - | - |
| 3 | Mexico Creek Bridge | BZ | Philip Goldson Highway | Mexico Creek | - | - | 20.7 | - | concrete | paved | - | - |