The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) reminded motorists, especially truckers, on Sunday, August 21, to comply with the allowable maximum gross vehicle weight for trucks passing through the national roads and bridges.
This, as Henry Alcantara, chief of DPWH Bulacan First District Engineering Office, raised alarm on the “rapid deterioration” of the Manila North Road (MNR) due to overloaded trucks weighing double the 13.5 kilograms per axle requirement that pass through it.
The MNR, also known as the MacArthur Highway, is a major thoroughfare that links Metro Manila to Bulacan province.
It is one of the national roads in Bulacan that serves as a passageway for the transportation of construction materials such as aggregates, sand, stones, marble and other tons of goods and products, in and out of Metro Manila.
“Since overloaded vehicles are restricted at the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX), trucks take the MNR route from Pampanga to Bulacan and into Metro Manila, and vice versa,” Alcantara said.
Despite the concern, Alcantara assured the public that the DPWH “strictly follows the design” for the MNR based on the engineering standards and guidelines set by the department.
The DPWH Bulacan First Engineering Office covers the 27-km MNR area in the towns of Bocaue, Balagtas, and Calumpit.