NLEX Corp. said over the weekend it is implementing three major expressway projects this year to further expand its capacity.
“This 2024, we intend to embark on three major infrastructure projects and a series of enhancement programs on our assets, which are our roads and our systems, all for the improved travel experience of our motorists at NLEX, SCTEX and NLEX Connector,” said NLEX Corp. presidet and general manager J. Luigi Bautista.
These projects include the completion of the Candaba 3rd Viaduct which is scheduled to be finished by November 2024. Now 40-percent complete, the 5-kilometer viaduct is being built in the middle of the two existing bridges that connects the towns of Pulilan, Bulacan and Apalit, Pampanga.
Once completed, the Candaba Viaduct will be widened to three lanes with inner and outer shoulders in each direction to enhance motorists’ safety and mobility.
Another project of the tollway company is the NLEX C5-Link. The first two kilometers of the project between the Mindanao Avenue toll plaza to Quirino Highway in Novaliches is set to begin construction by the second quarter of 2024.
“The construction of this new expressway section will be welcome news for NLEX commuters who currently face daily traffic gridlock in the congested portions of Mindanao Avenue. Eventually, this section will be integrated into the future NLEX expansion to C5/C.P. Garcia near Katipunan Avenue,” Bautista said.
“We foresee an interconnected tollway network that will be accessible to the west, east, north, and south sides of Metro Manila,” he said.
The third major project would be the expansion of NLEX San Fernando to SCTEX Spur in Mabalacat, Pampanga which is targeted to start in the second quarter of this year.
When finished, expressway road capacity of the stretch from San Fernando to SCTEX Spur in Pampanga will be expanded from the existing 2×2 lanes to 3×3 lanes in each direction, giving motorists a faster, more seamless travel.
The project also includes the installation of roadway lighting from NLEX San Fernando to Sta. Ines, Mabalacat in Pampanga for added safety and the expansion of the Angeles Interchange to accommodate the increase in volume of vehicles in the area.
NLEX also signed a memorandum of agreement with DPWH and the TRB to build the Sto. Tomas Interchange between San Simon and San Fernando in Pampanga, which will provide direct access to Santo Tomas and nearby towns.
The interchange will ease congestion leading to San Fernando, by providing an additional entry point to the province.