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First five-kilometer section of North Luzon Expressway Connector to be completed by yearend
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The entire 8km elevated expressway set to be finished by 2022
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The P23-billion NLEX Connector is seen to improve access to Manila Ports and airports, and reduce travel time between NLEX and South Luzon Expressway from two hours to just 20 minutes
Construction of the first five-kilometer (km) section of the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) Connector from Caloocan Interchange on C3 to España in Manila is being accelerated to meet the project’s completion target set for end of the year.
Right-of-way delivery for the whole alignment stands at 81%, while construction progress is at 16%, Public Works and Highways Secretary Mark Villar said.
Spanning a total of 8 km, the full NLEX Connector will be an all-vehicle class elevated expressway that will traverse C3 Road in Caloocan City, pass through Abad Santos, Blumentritt, Dimasalang, España, and Magsaysay Boulevard, and eventually connect to the Metro Manila Skyway Stage 3 in the area of the Polytechnic University of the Philippines in Sta. Mesa, Manila. The entire expressway is set to be finished by 2022.
The P23-billion NLEX Connector will feature four toll plazas and interchanges on C3 and in España. It is seen to improve access to Manila ports and airports, and reduce travel time between NLEX and South Luzon Expressway from two hours to just 20 minutes.
The project will also provide trucks with a 24/7 alternative route, enabling unhampered delivery of goods and stimulating economic development in Manila, Caloocan, Malabon, Navotas, and surrounding areas.
Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and project concessionaire NLEX Corp. recently launched the use of Super T girders, which are innovative, pre-stressed box girders widely used for bridges in Australia and New Zealand but are relatively new in the Philippine construction industry.
The newly installed Super T beams span 30 meters and weigh 53 tons. Compared to other types of girders, Super T beams are more flexible, structurally efficient, and aesthetically appealing. They have open flanges that provide a complete working surface and reduce the need for formworks, thus helping fast-track the construction of the elevated expressway.
“Innovation is one of the core values of our company. We are using Super T beams to advance our construction progress so we can soon complete this crucial infrastructure that would help decongest Metro Manila and solve truck ban woes,” NLEX Corp. president and general J. Luigi Bautista said.
Over 1,400 girders will be used for the entire connector project. NLEX Corp. noted that the structural format of a Super T provides an optimal solution to particular challenges posed by the connector project, which passes through urbanized areas where the roads are already congested, and the right-of-way is constrained laterally.
Last year, DPWH, NLEX Corp., and power distribution company Manila Electric Company (Meralco) facilitated the clearing of electric facilities in Sta. Cruz, Manila. More than 300 Meralco linemen simultaneously worked to clear a portion of the right-of-way, which involved installing and retiring around 160 electric poles.
