NLEx to reopen Marilao Bridge’s 4 lanes by end-March

’ROUND THE CLOCK The damaged Marilao interchange bridge of the North Luzon Expressway (NLEx) undergoes 24/7 repair work, shown here on Friday night, as it targets to reopen all four of the northbound lanes by March 31. —NLEx Corp.

MARILAO, BULACAN, Philippines — North Luzon Expressway (NLEx) officials assured that all four lanes of the northbound lane in this town that were closed to repair the damaged Marilao interchange bridge will reopen by the end of this month.

NLEx Corp. said in a statement on Saturday that repair work at the bridge that began last Thursday was being done round the clock to meet the end-March deadline and in time for the Holy Week rush.

Lanes 2 and 3, or the middle sections of the four northbound lanes of the NLEx in Marilao, were closed for repairs after a 4.9-meter-high truck, which exceeded the 4.2-meter vertical clearance of the expressway’s interchange bridge, hit the span at around 11 a.m. on Wednesday. This triggered its closure for repair and heavy traffic reaching as far as Bocaue and Balintawak.

READ: NLEx waives toll for northbound part from Balintawak to Meycauayan

The bridge is 23.3 kilometers northbound or around 11 km from the Balintawak Toll Plaza, according to NLEx Corp.

As of Friday afternoon, three northbound lanes have been opened to ease traffic, the NLEx said in a statement. “Furthermore, a zipper lane will be opened in the southbound direction when conditions allow. These measures resulted and will result in the progressive improvement of traffic flow in the area. Barring any unforeseen circumstances,” it added.

The company said it would continue to update the public on the ongoing repairs and the measures it has taken to ease traffic flow.

Safety issues

Meanwhile, Bulacan Vice Gov. Alexis Castro called on NLEx and concerned government agencies to put in place measures that would ensure a speedy response if a similar incident happened again.

“The incident opens for us to rethink how safe and secure our expressway infrastructures are and the readiness of NLEx and government agencies concerned in responding to the said incidents,” Castro said in a speech on Thursday.

Castro added that it is vital to determine the laws, rules, and regulations being implemented by NLEx on these incidents, particularly since thousands of motorists bound for northern and Central Luzon are expected around the Holy Week.

Around 320,000 motorists use the NLEx on a daily basis. The NLEx Connector serves around 17,000 motorists daily while 80,000 use the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway daily.

The number of motorists is expected to increase from 10 to 15 percent beginning the second week of April as people travel to the provinces starting from Palm Sunday (April 13) until Easter Sunday on April 20. —Carmela Reyes-Estrope