1 hour travel cut to 5 minutes 'THAT'S HEAVEN!'--- Duterte lauds NLEX Harbor Link opening

Manila---As one of the administration's battle to ease traffic bottlenecks, President Rodrigo Duterte lauded the construction of the NLEX Harbor Link Segment 10, calling it 'heaven' as the travel period between Valenzuela to Caloocan will be cut from 1 hour to just 5 minutes.

"Travel time between Valenzuela City and Caloocan, for example, will be reduced from one hour to about five minutes, "that’s heaven," Duterte said in his speech during inauguration of NLEX Harbor Link Segment 10 and the groundbreaking of the NLEX-SLEX Connector Road Thursday. 

Credit Image: https://www.projectlupad.com/nlex-segment-10-harbor-link-as-of-september-2018/

Duterte, who led the ceremony expects that the NLEX Harbor Link Segment 10 will decongest major thoroughfares and improve linkages going to Manila Port as the lanes will be available to public transport on Friday.

The NLEX Harbor Link Segment 10, a 5.65-km, six-lane road which traverses the cities of Valenzuela, Malabon and Caloocan is expected to divert  20,000 vehicles daily away from the central eye of Metro Manila.

According to the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), the NLEX Harbor Link is seen to advance transport logistics as it will serve as an alternative southbound route to Metro Manila bypassing Balintawak Cloverleaf and EDSA which facilitates efficient delivery of goods as cargo trucks will have 24/7 direct access from the port area to the provinces in northern Luzon and vice versa via the NLEX.

"The expressway is seen to improve accessibility and connectivity between key areas of Metro Manila and some provinces of Luzon via the North Luzon Expressway," DPWH secretary Mark Villar said in a statement.

In line with this, Duterte expressed his will that the administration is committed to its 10-point socioeconomic agenda, living in the bayanihan spirit and strong sense of nationhood.

"This will definitely improve access and mobility in the area and result in greater socio-economic gains for our industries and communities. I am hopeful that the remaining portions of the NLEX Harbor Link Project will be completed within the next two years," Duterte said.

The construction of 2.7-kilometer Segment 10 Exit Ramp to Radial Road (R-10) is currently ongoing to extend NLEX Harbor Link Segment 10 up to R-10 using Circumferential Road 3 (C-3) as its route.

Segment 10 Exit Ramp to R-10 is targeted to be completed in January 2020.

The DPWH said the full construction will further reduce travel time from NLEX to Manila Port Area in Manila to only 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, simultaneous with the full opening of the NLEX Harbor Link Segment 10 was the commencement of the two-year construction of the P23.3-billion NLEX-SLEX Connector Road Project which will be started in May this year.

The NLEX-SLEX connector road is eight kilometers, elevated, and with four lanes. The expressway extends the NLEX southward from the end of Segment 10 along C-3 Road Caloocan to the Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP) in Sta. Mesa, Manila and connects to the Skyway Stage 3, mostly along the Philippine National Railways (PNR) track.

The expressway is expected to reduce travel time between NLEX and SLEX from two hours to just 20 minutes and between Clark, Pampanga and Calamba, Laguna from three hours to just one hour and 40 minutes.

Likewise, travel between the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) and Clark Airport will improve and will benefit around 35,000 motorists a day.

"Identification of right-of-way requirement and most of acquisition activities were completed hence the earlier as planned start construction activities for the NLEX-SLEX connector road project," DPWH secretary said.

Duterte, also expressed his gratitude for the people behind the construction and the Filipinos who will benefit the most.

"All of the projects that we undertake and will do for the rest of my term, [we] give our gratitude to the builders, to the contractors, the partners of government and we place it in the name of the people of the Republic of the Philippines," he said.

"Nobody can claim credit in the name of the people, it is their money and for all of us," he added.

The conglomerate Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPTC) bagged the contract to build the P23.3-billion connector road.

“NLEX Harbor Link Segment 10 and NLEX Connector are just some of Metro Pacific’s expansion projects geared towards providing further convenience to motorists and bringing more opportunities in nearby cities and provinces,” MPTC president and CEO Rodrigo Franco said.