NLEX Corporation will continue to invest this year in major infrastructure and enhancement projects for the country’s economic growth, President J. Luigi L. Bautista announced Tuesday, January 10.
Foremost in its list are the NLEX Connector and Candaba Third Viaduct.
The entire NLEX Connector stretches eight kilometers starting from Caloocan Interchange on C3 Road up to the vicinity of the Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP) in Sta. Mesa, Manila.
The project will decongest major thoroughfares in the metropolis.
Its first section between Caloocan and España interchanges is at 94 percent completion and expected to open within the first quarter of the year.
The second section, connecting España and Sta. Mesa, is now 29 percent complete.
Part of the second segment is the redevelopment of the Magsaysay Boulevard featuring on and off ramps in Magsaysay and Sta. Mesa, improving portions of the local roads - Osmeña Highway, Nagtahan, Rizal Avenue Extension, G. Araneta Avenue, and A. Bonifacio Avenue.
It will also enable easier travel to various areas like Manila City Hall, Quiapo Church, University Belt, Intramuros, Rizal Park, Gilmore, Cubao, and San Juan.
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On the other hand, the construction of Candaba Third Viaduct starts in the first quarter of 2023.
The project will expand the five-kilometer bridge from existing three lanes without shoulder to three lanes with inner and outer shoulder per direction.
Aside from making travels safer and more convenient, this new bridge, once finished, will also enable faster journeys as it will increase the maximum speed at the Viaduct from 60kph to 80kph.
Also in the pipeline is the construction of new expressway lanes in Pampanga from San Fernando to SCTEX Spur in Mabalacat.
Apart from building new roads, NLEX is looking to enhance its assets for better customer experience by undertaking the regular pavement repair and bridge strengthening programs, replacement of traffic safety devices, and continuous enhancement of its toll systems.
The company is also set to install more closed-circuit television cameras along NLEX, SCTEX, and SFEX and upgrade the NLEX-SCTEX traffic control center.
To reduce its carbon footprint, NLEX will start using electric vehicles in its operations.
These EVs, which will be used by NLEX-SCTEX patrol crews, intend to drive decarbonization as part of the MVP Group’s thrust towards sustainability.
The tollway company will also continue this year its resource-saving initiatives of harnessing solar power in select toll plazas.
At the end of 2022, NLEX reported finishing the road raising project in SCTEX, upgrading of Pampanga bridges, improvement of Balintawak Cloverleaf, enhancements in infrastructure, toll collection system, and account management system.
NLEX Corporation is a subsidiary of the Metro Pacific Tollways Corporation (MPTC), the toll road arm of the Metro Pacific Investments Corporation (MPIC).