DPWH opens new portion of Arterial Road to San Rafael, Bulacan

The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) has opened an additional portion to the Plaridel Bypass Road Project. The two-lane road will connect the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) to San Rafael, Bulacan, traversing key municipalities to cut travel time.

This portion will begin at a newly built interchange in Brgy. Burol 2nd, Balagtas and will go all the way to the Philippines – Japan Friendship Highway (also known as Maharlika Highway) in Brgy. Maasim, San Rafael, Bulacan.

It has a distance of 9.96 km that includes a 1.12 km-bridge overseeing the Angat River. In addition, the road will bypass a total of five municipalities in Bulacan namely Balagtas, Guiguinto, Plaridel, Bustos and San Rafael.

According to the DPWH, this section of the project will be able to accommodate 15,000 vehicles on a daily basis and cut travel time between NLEX-Balagtas to Maharlika Highway in San Rafael, Bulacan by as much as 30 minutes.

The opening of this phase of the project also begins a new one, which includes widening the road from two to four lanes. When all phases are completed, the Plaridel Bypass Road will be a 24.61 km four lane road with a total of 11 bridges, five overpasses, two interchanges, and an intersection. The final phase of this project is expected to be finished by 2022.