NLEX Corp to complete NLEX Connector project, start new projects by H2

NLEX Corporation, the operator of the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX), is targeting to complete the P23-billion NLEX Connector project and jumpstart the construction of two new projects by the second half of the year.

“We continue to actively contribute to our country’s economic recovery by ramping up our infrastructure improvements that aim to enhance the mobility and safety of motorists,” said NLEX Corp. President J. Luigi Bautista.

NLEX Corp. said the construction of the first five kilometers - España Section - of the eight-kilometer NLEX Connector between the Caloocan and España interchanges of the project now stands at 70% and is expected to be completed within the year.

The entire elevated road extends the expressway southward from NLEX Harbor Link Caloocan Interchange on C3 Road, España Blvd., R. Magsaysay Blvd., to Sta. Mesa, Manila.

The company said the NLEX Connector project aims to provide the supply chain and logistics sector with a more efficient and truck ban-free route, bypassing busy roads such as EDSA and C5.

The project is also seen to enhance accessibility to international airports such as NAIA and Clark, help create jobs, and spur development between Metro Manila and its surrounding provinces in the north and south.

Once opened, NLEX Corp. said around 35,000 motorists are expected to be served by this new expressway which runs mostly above the alignment of the Philippine National Railways (PNR).

NLEX C5 Link

Meanwhile, the toll road company is targeting to start within the second half of the year the first two kilometers of the NLEX C5 Link section between the Mindanao Avenue toll plaza and Quirino Highway in Novaliches, Quezon City.

The NLEX C5 Link is an 11.5-kilometer expressway traversing Mindanao Avenue, Quirino Highway, Regalado Avenue, Congressional Avenue, and C.P. Garcia Avenue in Quezon City, and is a vital portion of Metro Pacific’s Urban Ring Road or the interconnected tollway network that is being developed to link the west, east, north, and south sides of Metro Manila.

Once completed, NLEX Corp. said the NLEX C5 Link would reduce the travel time between Mindanao Avenue and Commonwealth Avenue to 10 minutes instead of the usual 45 minutes.

Candaba Viaduct bridge

Likewise, the company said that also included in its pipeline of projects for 2022 is the construction of the third bridge at the Candaba Viaduct. The project is situated between Pulilan, Bulacan, and Apalit, Pampanga.

The Candaba Viaduct is a strategic expressway link that has been serving the Metro Manila-Central and North Luzon road corridor for several years.

The company said the Candaba Third Viaduct project is expected to be completed in 24 months. It is seen to expand the five-kilometer bridge from the existing three lanes without a shoulder to three lanes with inner and outer shoulders per direction.

“Aside from making travels safer and more convenient, this new bridge, once completed, will also translate to faster journeys as it will increase the maximum speed at the Viaduct from 60kph (kilometers per hour) to 80kph,” NLEX Corp. said.

NLEX Corp. is a unit of the Metro Pacific Tollways Corporation (MPTC), the toll road arm of the Pangilinan-led Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC). — DVM, GMA News