The 2.22-kilometer (km) section of the Arterial Plaridel Bypass Road, which includes the bridge across Angat River in Bustos, Bulacan, was opened on Friday, July 9.
Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Mark Villar said that the widened section includes the 1.12-km Angat Bridge, the 40.86-meter Tambubong Bridge, and the 1.06-km road section of the Arterial Plaridel Bypass Road.
Villar said that the expanded section improves the transport capacity of the bypass road, which caters to an increasing number of motorists going to the eastern part of Bulacan and Nueva Ecija.
These works were implemented under Contract Package 3 of the Arterial Road Bypass Project Phase 3, which involves the widening of the entire 24.61-km stretch of the Plaridel Bypass Road from the Balagtas area of the North Luzon Expressway all the way to San Rafael in Bulacan.
The entire Plaridel Bypass Road, which was opened in 2018, takes vehicles away from the congested Daang Maharlika Highway and encourages the re-development of surrounding lands to stimulate socio economic development.
Arterial Road Bypass Project-Phase 3 is funded by a loan agreement between the Philippines and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).