NLEX on track to start construction of connector road

NLEX Corp. expects to start construction of the connector road in May next year based on the contractual agreement it entered with the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).

The first section of the project will start from C3 Road in Caloocan City up to Espana in Manila.

NLEX and DPWH earlier agreed to push for an aggressive timeline to move the construction schedule to January 2019 “to ensure early completion of the NLEX connector which is seen as a crucial infrastructure needed to solve traffic congestion in Metro Manila.”

NLEX said the aggressive timeline was in consideration with the joint right-of-way (ROW) program of the DPWH.

The acquisition of the ROW is on track as the DPWH is fully committed to provide the ROW requirements to jumpstart the construction of the NLEX connector project ahead of its original contractual schedule.

“DPWH Secretary Mark Villar even created in 2017 a ROW task force for faster and efficient ROW acquisition and delivery,” NLEX said.

The tollway company and DPWH are working closely for the completion of the project by December 2020, ahead of the original schedule of May 2021.

The NLEX connector road project is an eight-kilometer, all elevated four-lane expressway which would extend the NLEX southward from the end of the NLEX Harbor Link Segment 10 in C3 Road in Caloocan City to PUP in Sta. Mesa, Manila.

The project is expected to provide seamless expressway connection between key growth areas like Metro Manila and North and Central Luzon, and the Clark-Subic corridor.

Some 35,000 motorists, especially cargo trucks, are expected to benefit from the project.

The NLEX connector is one of the first public-private partnership projects awarded by the Duterte administration in 2016.