The first five-kilometer section of the NLEX Connector between Caloocan Interchange on C3 Road and the future España Interchange in Manila is now 80 percent complete, NLEX Corporation President and General Manager J. Luigi L. Bautista announced Wednesday, August 24.
The connector will shorten the travel time of cargoes going to and from the north and south of Luzon by at least 60 percent, improving the mobility of the supply chain and logistics sectors.
“In a few months’ time, truckers will have a 24/7 alternative route which will enable unimpeded delivery of goods,” he noted.
The segment has on and off ramps and toll plazas along C3 Road and España Boulevard, crosses over the Blumentritt Station of LRT 1 and Dimasalang Bridge, and uses steel box girders for its curved and highly elevated areas.
A public-private partnership (PPP) project between the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and Metro Pacific-led NLEX Corporation, this new road, is also part of the Luzon Spine Expressway Network.
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Currently, the DPWH has turned over 91 percent of the right-of-way for the España section and 83 percent for the Sta. Mesa section.
Targeting to serve around 35,000 motorists per day, the four-lane, all-vehicle class elevated expressway, in its entirety, spans eight kilometers.
It terminates at the vicinity of the Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP) in Sta. Mesa, Manila and passes through Tondo, Sta. Cruz, Sampaloc, and Sta. Mesa.
It has three interchanges located at C3 Road/5th Avenue in Caloocan, España Boulevard, and R. Magsaysay Boulevard in Manila.
The NLEX Connector runs mostly above the alignment of the Philippine National Railways (PNR) and features pre-stressed box girders called Super Ts that are widely used for bridges in Australia and New Zealand.
The connector road will likewise enhance the journey between international airports such as NAIA and Clark, boosting development between Metro Manila and its surrounding provinces.
NLEX Corporation is a unit of the Metro Pacific Tollways Corporation (MPTC), the toll road arm of the Metro Pacific Investments Corporation (MPIC).