DPWH speeds up ROWA for NLEX Harbor link

Public Works and Highways Secretary Mark A. Villar has directed his team to speed up right-of-way acquisitions (ROWA) for Segment 10 of the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX), forming task forces and negotiations with the Philippine National Railways (PNR) to expedite clearing of structures.

Some 65 percent of spaces for the Segment 10 alignment have already been cleared for construction, and only 35 percent remain to complete roadway construction set for December this year.

Segment 10 is using the PNR that traverses Karuhatan in Valenzuela City, Governor Pascual Avenue in Malabon City, and C-3 road in Caloocan City.

“We at DPWH unceasingly are speeding up the delivery of needed right-of-way spaces for the smooth implementation of big-ticket infrastructure projects under the Duterte administration such as the Segment 10,” Villar said.

The R10.5-billion NLEX Harbor Link Segment 10 is a 5.7-kilometer all-elevated expressway aimed at providing direct access between the port area to the northern provinces of Luzon through NLEX.

Featured in the government’s “Build, Build, Build” infrastructure program, NLEX Harbor Link will decongest Metro Manila by providing an alternative entry to NLEX, bypassing EDSA and other busy streets of Manila.

Once opened, travel time from the Manila Port to the NLEX will take only 10 minutes.

Secretary Villar and his team have coordinated with the PNR management to allow and expedite the clearing of structures, particularly the public market, along the PNR ROW in Caloocan City.

“The space occupied by the public market, once cleared, will enable our contractors to continue construction works and complete the expressway as scheduled,” said NLEX Corporation President Rodrigo E. Franco.

The expressway company has constructed a new public market beside the existing public market on 10th Avenue, Caloocan City to facilitate the transfer of the Caloocan City Public Market tenants. The newly constructed establishment includes market stalls and comfort rooms.

Installation of crossheads and columns will be undertaken in the area as soon as the remaining obstacles are cleared.