Guam Highway 8 (GH-8) is one of the primary automobile highways in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

territory of

Guam Guam ( ; ) is an island that is an Territories of the United States, organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. Guam's capital is Hagåtña, Guam, Hagåtña, and the most ...

Route description

The route is one of the more important highways in the island and is designated the Purple Heart Highway. The primary means of traversing the

plateau In geology and physical geography, a plateau (; ; : plateaus or plateaux), also called a high plain or a tableland, is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain that is raised sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side. ...

ed central part of the island, the route begins running south from a junction with GH-1 and almost immediately curves eastward into Mongmong-Toto-Maite. It shortly intersects the east end of GH-33, which provides a route into downtown Hagåtña. From there, the route continues eastward into the community of

Barrigada Barrigada () is a village in the United States territory of Guam. A largely residential municipality, its main village is located south of the Antonio B. Won Pat International Airport near the intersections of Routes 8, 10, and 16. The communi ...

. A significant amount of the land north of the road was once

Naval Air Station Agana Naval Air Station Agana is a former United States Naval air station located on the island of Guam. It was opened by the Japanese Navy in 1943 and closed by the United States government in 1995. During and after its closure, it was operated al ...

, and GH-8 used to be the primary route to the base, but after the

Base Realignment and Closure Commission Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) was a process by a Federal government of the United States, United States federal government commission to increase the efficiency of the United States Department of Defense by coordinating the realignment and ...

chose to have its operations relocated, the base was closed and the land has been returned to the local government, which has restored the area's original name of Tiyan. Most of the land has been used to expand the adjacent Antonio B. Won Pat International Airport and support industrial operations, so the main road in Tiyan remains an important though unnumbered highway junction. Towards its east end, GH-8 junctions two other important routes: GH-10 towards

Mangilao Mangilao is a village on the eastern shore of the United States territory of Guam. The village's population has decreased slightly since the island's 2010 census. Cliffs lie along much of the village's shoreline provide dramatic views, including ...

and the south coast and GH-16 back north towards

Tamuning Tamuning, also known as Tamuning-Tumon-Harmon (), is a village located on the western shore of the United States territory of Guam. The village of Tamuning is the economic center of Guam, containing tourist center Tumon, Harmon Industrial Park, ...

and

Dededo Dededo (; Spanish: ) is the most populated village in the United States territory of Guam. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Dededo's population was just under 45,000 in 2020. The village is located on the coral plateau of Northern Guam. The gr ...

. Traffic at the latter junction defaults to GH-16 for travel towards GH-1. GH-8 then curves east-northeast through undeveloped land before emerging at the US Naval Communication Station, Barrigada, a Naval facility dominated by the Admiral Nimitz Golf Course. The route itself ends at an unremarkable T-intersection within the grounds.

Major intersections

References

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008 008, OO8, O08, or 0O8 may refer to: * "008", a fictional 00 Agent In Ian Fleming's James Bond novels and the derived films, the 00 Section of MI6 is considered the secret service's elite. A 00 (pronounced "Double O") is a field agent who ho ...