NLEX opens elevated expressway between Caloocan and Navotas

June 15, 2020

NLEX Corp. on Monday opened its new elevated expressway between Caloocan City and Navotas City to motorists, cutting travel time from Port Area to North Luzon Expressway.

“By bringing NLEX closer to the country’s central shipping gateway, we expect to speed up transport of goods as well as increased economic activities in Metro Manila and North and Central Luzon regions,” Luigi Bautista, NLEX president and general manager said.

The new 2.6 km NLEX Harbor Link section features the new Caloocan interchange (with on and off ramps along Grace Park), the new Malabon Exit (with off ramp on Dagat-Dagatan Avenue) and the new Navotas Interchange (with on and off ramps on North Bay Boulevard South).

It extends the existing Harbor Link (the 2.42-kilometer Segment 9 between the NLEX Interchange to Bgy. Karuhatan, Valenzuela City and the 5.65-kilometer Segment 10 between Bgy. Karuhatan to the new Caloocan Interchange in Grace Park C3/5th Avenue).

Public Works Secretary Mark Villar said the expanded NLEX Harbor Link will boost the government’s traffic decongestion efforts in Metro Manila.

“This will be an alternative route between Quezon City and Manila. From the Mindanao Toll Plaza, motorists may now reach the Port Area in Manila in about 15 to 20 minutes,” he added.

The elevated expressway  is seen to benefit around 30,000 vehicles per day.

The new section will introduce an alternative route for motorists, especially truckers, affected by traffic choke points along Quezon Avenue, EDSA, and A. Bonifacio in Manila.

“We worked overtime to deliver this piece of infrastructure that our metropolis needs not only to improve driving experience but also to hasten economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic,” Rodrigo  Franco, president and chief executive of Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. said.

“The impact of the ECQ has been challenging but our commitment never wavered, and our focus remained clear, and that is by resuming our infrastructure projects, we generate jobs and help quickly restart business activities,” he added.

Before the year ends, DPWH and NLEX are also targeting the completion of the new exit ramp towards the Navotas Fish Port Complex. DMS