The first five-kilometer section of NLEX Connector between Caloocan Interchange on C3 Road and the future España Interchange in Manila is now 80 percent complete and poised to make a positive impact on the traffic conditions in the metro.

NLEX Corporation President and General Manager J. Luigi L. Bautista said, “We are pleased to note that this vital infrastructure project aimed at easing travel achieves another milestone as it reaches 80 percent completion. This inspires optimism for the logistics sector since in a few months’ time, truckers will have a 24/7 alternative route which will enable unimpeded delivery of goods.” 

This segment has on and off ramps and toll plazas along C3 Road and España Boulevard, crosses over the Blumentritt Station of LRT 1 and Dimasalang Bridge, and uses steel box girders for its curved and highly elevated areas. 

A public-private partnership (PPP) project between the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and Metro Pacific-led NLEX Corporation, this new road, which is also part of the Luzon Spine Expressway Network, offers a much-need recourse to shorten the travel time of cargoes going to and from the north and south of Luzon. It seeks to improve the mobility of the supply chain and logistics sectors, which are seen as integral to the country’s economic growth and competitiveness. 

Currently, the DPWH has turned over 91 percent of the right-of-way for the España section and 83 percent for the Sta. Mesa section.

Targeting to serve around 35,000 motorists per day, the four-lane, all-vehicle class elevated expressway, in its entirety, spans eight kilometers, and terminates at the vicinity of the Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP) in Sta. Mesa, Manila. It passes through Tondo, Sta. Cruz, Sampaloc, and Sta. Mesa in Manila and has three interchanges located at C3 Road/5th Avenue in Caloocan, España Boulevard, and R. Magsaysay Boulevard in Manila.

The NLEX Connector runs mostly above the alignment of the Philippine National Railways (PNR) and features innovative, prestressed box girders called Super Ts that are widely used for bridges in Australia and New Zealand. It is seen to significantly reduce travel time  from NLEX to South Luzon by at least 60 percent and expected to enhance the journey between international airports such as NAIA and Clark and will stimulate development between Metro Manila and its surrounding provinces.

NLEX Corporation is a unit of the Metro Pacific Tollways Corporation (MPTC), the toll road arm of the Metro Pacific Investments Corporation (MPIC).