Southern Tagalog Arterial Road

STAR Tollway over Tanauan.

STAR Tollway starts as the physical extension of South Luzon Expressway past the overpass with the abandoned Philippine National Railways (PNR) branch line to Batangas City and an access road for Light Industry and Science Park III at Santo Tomas. Until 2010, the toll road ended at Santo Tomas Exit. The road widens for a short distance at the Santo Tomas toll plaza before narrowing back to two lanes. The road enters Tanauan, with an exit serving the city proper from the west. Past Tanauan Exit, STAR Tollway descends on a scenic curve before ascending on approach to Malvar. Entering Malvar, the road mostly passes rural areas, mostly containing large coconut plantations and small residential areas. Also, within Malvar, Mount Maculot can be seen on the right of the road and Mount Malarayat can be sighted on the left. Afterwards, it enters Lipa, and the road gradually curving before approaching Lipa Exit, which is an access to the city proper, and also to the nearby towns of Mataasnakahoy, Cuenca, and Alitagtag. The exit once served as the tollway's southern terminus until 2007, when STAR Tollway was extended southward towards Batangas City.

Past Lipa Exit, STAR Tollway is mostly dual carriageway, until it narrows in approach to Batangas City. This segment was a two-lane expressway from its opening in 2008, until the second roadway opened on 2014. The roadways of this segment is concrete, with the southbound roadway the former two-lane expressway, that has been in bad condition with increased traffic demand.

South of Lipa Exit, the road mostly runs through the rural barangays of Lipa. Then, it curves slightly on approach to San Jose. At Ibaan Exit, the road intersects San Jose-Ibaan Road at a diamond interchange where the expressway passes above grade. Past Ibaan Exit, STAR Tollway mostly runs an arcing route, traversing several rural barangays of Ibaan and paralleling the Batangas-Quezon Road from Ibaan to Batangas City. The road narrows back to two lanes at Sabang bridge on the Ibaan-Batangas City boundary. The approach to Batangas City from Ibaan was a site of a fatal head-on collision between a jeep and a bus, that killed 7 on January 2011.[1] The road becomes a 3-lane road, with a concrete Jersey barrier dividing the road, ascending in a cutting before following a straight course on rolling terrain up to the STAR Tollway's southern terminus at Balagtas Rotunda. The road widens at the Balagtas toll plaza, narrows back to 3 lanes, and ends at the Balagtas Rotunda, a roundabout with Jose P. Laurel Highway, Batangas Port Diversion Road, and Batangas-Balete Road.

The Santo Tomas – Lipa segment of STAR Tollway in Malvar, before the rehabilitation project, that added an asphalt overlay on the existing roadway (2008)

Announced by the concessionaire, STAR-Infrastructure Development Corporation (SIDC), on May 16, 2013, the STAR Tollway Upgrading and Rehabilitation Project began on July 2013 as announced by SIDC president Melvin Nazareno. Under the project, the expressway undergone several upgrade and rehabilitation on its roads and facilities in order to cope with the traffic demand of the expressway. The expressway redevelopment included asphalting the Santo Tomas – Lipa segment, upgrading the Lipa – Batangas City segment to a four-lane divided expressway, improvements on the toll collection system, installation of closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras for traffic monitoring, and addition of lighting on some segments.[2] The expansion of the Lipa–Batangas City segment commenced on June 2013, and finished in June 2015 with adding of lights.[3]

Sabang Bridge, which connects the town of Ibaan and Batangas City, was closed to all traffic in December 2016 to repair damage of Typhoon Nina (Nock-ten), leaving Ibaan Exit to be the temporary south end of the expressway.[4]

On August 15, 2017, a partial re-opening of Sabang Bridge was conducted for Class 1 vehicles and on August 20, 2017, it was re-opened to all vehicle classes resuming full operations to and from the Batangas Exit.[5]

A 10 km (6.2 mi) extension of STAR Tollway, is proposed by the Sangguniang Panlalawigan of Batangas as two priority projects that will benefit the province as well as Mimaropa. The proposed extension will increase economic growth in the Batangas Bay area and reduce congestion on existing roads in Batangas City. The project will cost ₱576,000,000, and will pass through the barangays of Tinga Itaas, Tinga Labac, San Pedro, Dumantay, Sampaga, Sirang Lupa, and San Isidro, all in Batangas City.[6] The project, dubbed the Pinamucan Bypass Road[7] is expected to be completed before 2021.[8] Right of way acquisition and construction work began on August 21, 2018, with funding from the Batangas 2nd District engineering office.[7]

Another extension to Bauan, called the Batangas City–San Pascual–Bauan Road (originally Batangas City–Bauan Toll Road), is proposed by the Department of Public Works and Highways as an alternative to the existing national road between Batangas City and Bauan. The project is expected to decongest the existing national road, whose traffic demand reached beyond capacity due to roadside establishments, industrial areas, and the Batangas Port, and increase economic development in the Batangas City–Bauan area. The proposed alignment of the toll road will start at the present terminus of STAR Tollway at barangay Balagtas, pass through the northern rural barangays of Batangas City and San Pascual, and end at the national road to Mabini at barangay Manghinao in Bauan.[10] The proposed toll road is being constructed as an at-grade bypass only, connecting with Diversion Road, with right of way acquisition and construction works started in February 21, 2018.[7]

The entire route is located in Batangas City. 

km	mi	Destinations	Notes
		E2 (STAR Tollway)	Planned interchange and northern terminus
		N435 (Batangas—Quezon Road)
		San Pedro Road
		Old National Road
		N438 (Batangas—Taysan—Lobo Road) – Taysan, Lobo
		Dumuclay Road
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Unopened

The entire route is located in Batangas. [9] 

City/Municipality	km	mi	Exit	Name	Destinations	Notes
Batangas City					E2 (STAR Tollway) / N4 (Jose P. Laurel Highway) / N434 (Batangas Port Diversion Road) – Manila, Batangas Port	Eastern terminus
					Banaba South
					Banaba West
San Pascual					Bayanan – Padre Castillo Road
					Aquino Avenue
					San Mateo Road
					Makalintal Avenue
					Alitagtag – San Pascual Road
Bauan					N436 (Palico–Balayan–Batangas Road)
					Bauan – Mabini Road	Western terminus
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Unopened