PUBLIC Works and Highways Secretary Mark Villar inspected Wednesday, February 20, the 5.65-km portion of the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) Harbor Link Segment 10 from Karuhatan, Valenzuela City to the new Caloocan Interchange in C3 Road, Caloocan City ahead of its opening in a few days.

The new segment is envisioned to alleviate traffic congestion in Metro Manila as it will serve as an alternate corridor for motorists traveling from Central and North Luzon provinces, Valenzuela City, and Quezon City to Manila.

“The NLEX Harbor Link Segment 10 will be a traffic game changer since this will reduce travel time from C3 to NLEX to just 10 minutes,” said Villar, adding that “once opened, around 30,000 vehicles will benefit from this new road.”

“The next phase of this project is the 2.6-km section from C3 Road, Caloocan City to R10, Navotas City which we hope to finish by the end of this year,” Villar added.

Villar also noted that because of the reduction in travel time, motorists will gain significant savings in vehicle operating costs and increase their productivity as they will not need to go through heavy traffic.

“In a recent Jica study, traffic congestion in Metro Manila is costing the country P3.5 billion a day. This elevated expressway will be a big boost to our economy as billions of pesos will be saved annually with the improved travel time,” Villar said.

With the direct and quick access between NLEX and Manila Port, the NLEX Harbor Link Segment 10 is being eyed to provide direct access for commercial vehicles, especially heavy trucks.

Villar added that truckers and freight forwarders are expected to greatly benefit from the elevated expressway since their cargo trucks will be spared from the truck ban thus translate to faster delivery of goods to and from the provinces.

Luigi Bautista, NLEX Corporation president and general manager, cited that “aside from connecting NLEX to key areas in Metro Manila, the NLEX Harbor Link Segment 10 is seen to bring more opportunities in nearby communities such as generation of employment and increase in land values.”

For his part, MPTC president Rodrigo Franco said the “Metro Pacific remains committed in supporting the government in its infrastructure projects to improve accessibility between airports, seaports, and growth corridors in both the north and south.” (PR)