A better travel experience awaits motorists going to Bulacan as the Department of Transportation (DOTr), through the Toll Regulatory Board (TRB) signed an agreement to start the construction of a service road in Marilao town.
Transportation Secretary Arthur P. Tugade, who also chairs the TRB, signed on Thursday, July 22, the memorandum of agreement (MOA) with the NLEX Corporation, Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), and the provincial and municipal officials of Bulacan for the project.
"Transportation means accessibility. Accessibility also means convenience. They go hand in hand. We are partners in the whole-of-government approach to make the lives of the Filipino people more comfortable and convenient," Tugade said.
Under the agreement, the NLEX Corporation will allow the DPWH Region 3 to use its right of way (ROW) for the construction of the Marilao East Service Road project.
The new road, which will occupy a portion of the NLEX ROW, stretches from the Barcelona Academy Inc. in Barangay Lias to the Mario Santiago Road in Marilao, Bulacan.
For the part of TRB, executive director Alvin Carullo pledged the board's cooperation for the completion of the Marilao East Service Road.
"This project shows what solidarity and harmonious relationship between the public and private sectors can bring. What the TRB can guarantee is 100 percent support and assistance for the successful completion of this project," Carullo said.
Meanwhile, Marilao Mayor Ricardo Silvestre emphasized the need to open a more direct local route to and from these areas to ease the expanding traffic volume at the Meycauayan-Marilao Corridor.
The MOA also states that the use of the NLEX ROW for the construction of the project will be on a temporary basis pending the acquisition of lots for its own right of way by the DPWH Region 3 for the permanent Marilao East Service Road.
Areas covered by the Marilao East Service Road project remain part of the NLEX as covered in the Limited Access Highway Act or the Republic Act (RA) No. 2000.
"Subject to the terms and conditions, access to the NLEX may be reasonably regulated, restricted, or prohibited by the DOTr-TRB. At all times during the effectivity of this agreement, DPWH Region 3 and the government of Marilao in Bulacan shall exert its utmost efforts to abide by NLEX Corporation's reasonable regulations regarding ingress to NLEX," the MOA stated.