NLEX Corp. said it will start the construction of a P6-billion elevated expressway from Circumferential Road 3 in Caloocan City to Radial Road 10 in Navotas City in the first quarter of 2018.
NLEX president and chief executive Rodrigo Franco said the company expected to start the development of R-10 section of the NLEx Harbor Link early next year, or once it obtained an approval for tariff from the regulator.
“We already have clearance to proceed but we are still negotiating the investment recovery. It’s a new road, so we are seeking guidance from the Toll Regulatory Board for the tariff,” Franco said.
“We are hoping towards the end of the year we will get the approval from TRB and start construction by early next year,” Franco said.
The R10 section of Segment 10 involves the construction of a 2.5-kilometer elevated expressway that would connect R-10 to Circumferential Road 3.
It is the continuation of the P10.5-billion, 5.7-kilometer Segment 10, an elevated expressway passing through MacArthur Highway in Valenzuela City, Governor Pascual Avenue in Malabon City and C3 Road/5th Avenue.
Franco said the R-10 section was designed to provide direct access between Port Area and the northern provinces of Luzon via North Luzon Expressway.
He said the Valenzuela to C3 section of the NLEx Harbor Link was expected to be completed by first quarter of 2018, while the R-10 section was scheduled to be completed by the fourth quarter of next year.
Public Works and Highways Secretary Mark Villar earlier said the R-10 section of NLEx would help decongest Edsa and other major roads in Metro Manila. Once the project is completed, motorists would only need 10 minutes going from Port Area to NLEx. Cargo trucks will also have 24/7 access from the ports to their respective destinations in the north and south as NLEx is not covered by the truck ban.
NLEX earlier submitted an unsolicited proposal to build the P60 billion C-5 Expressway, a 21.8-kilometer all-elevated expressway from the end of NLEX Segment 8.2 in Luzon Avenue, Quezon City to Cavitex C-5 South Link.
The project will complete the missing segment of the C-5 Circumferential Expressway alignment, a crucial component of the Metro Manila Urban Expressway Network.
The C-5 Expressway project will provide fast and seamless travel for motorists east of Metro Manila and connect Quezon City, Pasig, Taguig and Pasay.
The company said the usual two-hour travel time during peak periods via C-5 Road would be reduced to less than 30 minutes.
NLEX also proposed to construct a P62.43 billion NLEx-Cavitex Port Expressway Link, a 15-kilometer distance and will use “push-tunnel technology” that will minimize disturbance on existing infrastructure.
The first phase of the project will be from the end of R-10 Spur Rod Ramp of NLEx traversing the R-10 up to Anda Circle in Manila, while the second phase will start from Anda Circle and will traverse Roxas Boulevard up to Cavitex.
The project will reduce truck traffic within its limited capacity road network and significantly contribute in the decongestion of the metropolis 24 hours a day.