NLEX-SLEX expressway project to start this year

The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) will push through in building an elevated highway that would connect NLEX to SLEX without having to pass by the heavily congested roads of Metro Manila or EDSA.

Through a deal with Metro Pacific Investments Corporation (MPIC), the elevated highway will have an estimated cost of P23.302-billion.

The NLEX-SLEX expressway will stretch a total of eight kilometres and have four lanes. It will start from Segment 10 in C3 Road, Caloocan City to Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP) in Sta. Mesa, Manila, connecting to the Skyway Stage 3. This project will also have two interchanges located at C3 Road and Espana, Manila.

According to the DPWH, the expressway will cut travel time from SLEX to NLEX from two hours to just 20 minutes. Meanwhile, vehicles coming from Clark, Pampanga going to Calamba, Laguna (vice versa) will reduce commute from three hours to one hour and 40 minutes. 

This project is expected to benefit at least 35,000 motorists per day and improve connectivity between NAIA and Clark airports. In addition, it may provide trucks with a 24/7 route, solving truck-ban problems.

If everything goes as planned, the construction of the NLEX-SLEX expressway will start around June or July, 2018, expected to be complete by April 2021.