NLEx Harbor Link seen to ease traffic jam, cut travel time

CITY OF MEYCAUAYAN — The shipment of goods to Manila’s Port Area from northern and central Luzon is expected to move faster and easier with the opening of the North Luzon Expressway (NLEx) Harbor Link segment this month, Public Works Secretary Mark Villar said here.

With the new link, travel time from NLEx in Valenzuela City to Port Area was also expected to be shorter, he said.

“We are happy to announce that the NLEx Harbor Link project will be accessible to the public by this month,” Villar said in a statement.

Direct access

“When this is completed, travel time from circumferential road 3 (C3) in Caloocan City and NLEx will be reduced to 10 minutes,” Villar said.

The road project is composed of the 5.65-kilometer elevated expressway traversing NLEx from MacArthur Highway in Karuhatan, Valenzuela City, and passing through the cities of Malabon and Caloocan and the 2.6-km section between C3 in Caloocan and R10 in Navotas.

The road network will also ease traffic congestion on Edsa and the north sections of Metro Manila as 30,000 cars, trucks and container vans from Port Area pass through the new expressway.

Villar said the P15.5-billion project would also boost the country’s transport industry as cargo trucks would have direct access from Port Area to the northern provinces of Luzon and vice versa via NLEx.

NLEx officials presented to Villar the complete and full acquisition of right of way on the remaining undeveloped portion of the project in Valenzuela City to C3 in Caloocan. —Carmela Reyes-Estrope