Tollroad firm Metro Pacific Tollways Corporation (MPTC) is proposing to improve the north’s access to Manila ports by extending the Harbor Link section of the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) to Anda Circle in the port area.
The MPTC submitted on December 9 the Harbor Link Port Access Mobility Facility project to the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH). The project is an elevated expressway that will span 5.1 kilometers (km) from C3 corner Navotas interchange to Anda Circle, and will cost from P15 billion to P16 billion, according to MPTC senior vice president for communications and stakeholder management Romulo Quimbo, Jr.
There will also be ramps connecting the planned expressway to the ports, particularly Manila International Container Terminal and Manila North Harbor.
Quimbo said the proposed extension will continue Harbor Link all the way to the Port Area, noting the provision in MPTC’s concession that authorizes it to submit a proposal to extend Harbor Link.
“The advantage is that [the extension] is needed by the ports. You have to bring the port closer to the NLEX,” Quimbo was quoted as saying.
The Harbor Link is intended to facilitate direct access between the port area and North and Central Luzon via NLEX.
The elevated expressway is an alternative for motorists, especially those in the commercial trucking sector, to the choke points of EDSA Balintawak, A. Bonifacio and C3/5th Avenue. It is also envisioned to spare truckers from the truck ban for a quicker turnaround.
Harbor Link R-10 Section is now 65% complete. The elevated 2.6-km section stretches west from the new Caloocan Interchange to R-10 in Navotas City. An important feature of the project is a new off-ramp that will bring motorists directly from the NLEX to Dagat-Dagatan in Malabon City.
Another project connecting NLEX to South Luzon is the NLEX Connector, an elevated, four-lane divided carriageway that will feature two interchanges and four toll plazas running above the Philippine National Railways lines.
A total of 223 piers will be built to support the all-weather, all-vehicle NLEX Connector which will eventually interconnect with the Metro Manila Skyway Stage 3 in Sta. Mesa, Manila.
Upon completion of the NLEX Connector, travel time from NLEX to SLEX will be reduced from the usual two hours to approximately 20 minutes.